It's Such a Shame For Us to Part
by LaBibliolatre
Summary: Their story has always been one of war. Of sadness, and loss, and pain. So much pain. But it was also a story about friendship. Of strength and survival. Of hope. And maybe, sometimes, a little, a love story. But most important, it has always been their story. And everything they would go through. Together. / Bellarke from The 100, Season 5 fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone!

Here's _It's Such a Shame For Us to Part_ , my first Bellarke fanfiction ever. I hope you'll love it as much as I enjoy writing it. Lots of those chapters have been written by hand in my notebook. It's long, but oh so satisfying.

Alright so, first of all, this story is a fanfiction of the (amazing) TV show The 100. I don't own most of the characters, except originals ones who come from my imagination.

Second of all, since English isn't my first language and I sometimes have quite a hard time with the grammar and everything, I'm asking you to be understanding. I'm doing the best I can for now and writing this story in English is my way to work hard and learn English, you know.

Finally, please, tell me what you think of the story. Feedback are always appreciated!

I hope you'll love this first chapter. Keep in mind that this is a **fanfiction**. And the good thing with fanfictions is that I can change whatever I like from the canon universe. That's why, here, the Sky Box is still there. Alright, you can proceed! Enjoy!

Love, La Bibliolâtre. x

(You can call me B.)

* * *

The first days weren't that bad. He hadn't felt a lot actually. They had stuff to do and it kept his mind off everything he didn't want to think about.

AKA Clarke.

He could feel the others staring at him, waiting for him to break down. Their gazes felt like mind reading attempts. But he couldn't get mad at them, because it wasn't easy for anyone. They'd just lost Clarke and were losing Bellamy, too. He was himself and yet so different at the same time. He was on autopilot. He was there answering their questions and making small talk with them without _actually_ being there. His eyes were empty, like his soul had left his body.

Maybe it was on the ground.

He remembered what Clarke told him. He wanted to act on it and make her proud. He liked the idea that she could watch him from somewhere above him and that she was proud of his choices. Using his head more than his heart was easy. He was making good decisions and the seven of them had found a steady and calm routine. But without acting with his heart, was he really Bellamy Blake?

They all started counting the days before going back to the ground. Except Bellamy. He tried, he really did, but it just hurt too much. Realizing how much time still had to pass before he could see Octavia, or even Kane again. Realizing how much time had already passed since Clarke died. He couldn't do it. When he counted the days, he wondered how her body would have looked by now. Had she'd been completely burned to ashes? Is she, by some miracle, surviving this, but alone? Would he find something left by her when he goes back? There were so many possibilities, but each ended with misery.

At the end of the third week, he was roaming around the ark, trying to find peace from his mind, when he found the Sky Box. The cells were all exactly the same and he couldn't tell which one was Octavia's.

But he found one that he recognized in the isolation section. And then, it felt like his chest ripped open and his heart crumbled.

The drawings. For a while, he had forgotten she's an artist. _Was_ an artist. She didn't get the chance to draw very often on Earth, but he remembered her talking about it once.

It was at the beginning, on a calm night, not a long before Mount Weather. The kid who was supposed to be on guard next to him was ill and Clarke had told him he had to rest. Bellamy was surprised when he saw Clarke climbing the ladder. He looked at her as she sat beside him.

"What are you doing here, princess?" He asked finally.  
"Guarding the fence, of course." She answered, like it was a normal thing.  
"Shouldn't you be in med bay with the sick kids? Or... I don't know, sleeping?" Bellamy questioned.  
"They're alright." She sighed. "They don't need me right now and I asked Monroe to radio if something changed." Showing him the walkie talkie. "Besides, you're missing someone here."

She shrugged and glanced at him, a half-smile on her lips. He couldn't help but love how she looked. The way her hair tumbled down her shoulders. The way her eyes were shone.

They made small talk for a while. She then fell silent for a moment and Bellamy turned to look at her. Her face was turned upward, her eyes drifting over the stars.

"Any shooting star tonight?" He inquired.  
"None." She murmured back. "Would you know what to wish for this time?"  
"Maybe." He replied, evasive. "Do you?"  
"Maybe" She parroted back. "You know, I would love to draw this view. It's just so beautiful from here. I always knew it would be, but actually seeing it is so much more than just imagining."  
"I didn't know you draw." He said, a weird feeling in his stomach.  
"There's probably still a lot of things we don't know about each other."  
"You could still do it, you know. Drawing."  
"It's not the same. I had time. Lots of it. And... I did it while dreaming of the ground, thinking it was some kind of dreamland." She made a sarcastic laugh. "When I was in my cell, all alone, I could think I was somewhere else, even if it was only for a few minutes."

Bellamy never thought he would ever see the drawings with his own eyes.

He stumbled towards the cold bed and collapsed. He couldn't breathe.

His eyes scramble across the room like he has to absorb everything or it'll all disappear. Vaguely aware of unwanted tears escaping from his eyes, he stood up, his heart beating fast and unable to stop. He crouched and his fingers traced the lines on the floor. The ugly sobs he was trying to contain coming out. The sound that he made didn't sound human. He felt himself crumbling, his knees hurting as they hit the hard ground and his palms smacking onto the floor. For a moment, his body started acting weird, like he needed to puke. He could feel his heart breaking in his chest and the pain became so bad that he started screaming. It's uncontrollable and for a moment, he thought that he could die from it.

Monty and Raven found him later, rocking himself back and forth.

"Good, finally." muttered Raven.

She just knew that it had to came out at some point. She had been anxious, wondering when it was going to hit him. Even though it hurt her inside to see Bellamy like that, she was glad to see him finally reacting and letting it out.

She ran to him, falling next to him and putting her arms around his shaking body. She tried to not look at the drawings, but even she's couldn't help but let the tears fall.

Monty, on the other hand, felt like he was trapped there. He couldn't move from where he stood. And he was crying. Crying for the friend who saved them so many times and who died in such an horrible way. And crying for the friend who was hanging onto Raven like a lifeline. As if she was the only thing keeping him here, alive and not drowning in his own tears.

"I should have told her, Raven." Bellamy croaked, his voice almost unintelligible among the sobs.  
"She knew it, Bell. She knew it."  
"I should have... I should have done something! I should have..."

He suddenly can't speak again and Raven held him so tight that she wondered if it would hurt him. But it seemed to help and honestly, she needed it, too.

She glanced at Monty, who finally unfroze to sit next to them, his left hand resting of Bellamy's back. The latter raised his head, looking at Monty right in the eyes. For a short second, he doesn't even recognize him. His face was red and puffy. But mostly his eyes... God, his eyes. They looked crazy. Bellamy looked crazy and broken. Monty thought it was strange, looking at this strong leader who right now looked like a little boy.

Raven wasn't in better shape either. She tried to stay strong, to comfort Bellamy because he was the one needing it right now. But how can you be strong when you feel like this? It was a terrible feeling. It was the kind of pain you can't imagine unless you lose someone you truly, madly and deeply loved. And at this point, they all had.

"We did the right thing, Bellamy." Monty finally said under Raven's insistent glare. "It wasn't an easy choice, but it was the right one."

Bellamy doesn't answer, but they could see the doubt in his eyes.

"And she knew what she meant to you. We all did. Just like we knew what you meant for her. It wasn't a secret for anyone except for maybe you two." Raven added.  
"I should have said it to her."  
"It doesn't do anything to regret what we could have done." Monty said, thinking of Jasper and the ' _I love you_ ' that came out too late for his friend to hear.  
"I left her behind. Alone." Bellamy said, looking exhausted. "What kind of person am I?"  
"We all did, Bell."  
"Raven, you don't –"  
"Yes, I do understand." She interrupted. "Remember what you told me. She told you to use your head because of Abby's premonitions. She knew something would happened and she trusted you to make the hard decision she had already made. She knew you could do it. She had so much faith in you."  
"It just hurt so much. I don't know how to be myself anymore. How to be without her forever."

Raven wasn't holding him anymore and they were all sitting, staring at the walls.

"They are very good..." Monty said.  
"Yeah."  
"I'm sorry." Bellamy said, surprising the others two. "I shouldn't have acted like that."  
"Bullshit." Dismissed Raven. "You might need to use your head more often, but you can't forget your heart in the process."

In the following days, they could see Bellamy coming back to them. Sometimes, they would catch him staring at the walls blankly or looking down on Earth through the windows, a frown on his face. They all knew he would never be completely over Clarke, but he would live and do everything he can so that her death isn't in vain.

After about two years, he and Echo even started sleeping together, which earned him a smirk and a " _The grounders aren't that bad, huh?_ " from Murphy. But still, it wasn't anything serious. They just both needed a bit of love and warmth from someone. He slept with Raven, too. But just once, after a particularly stressful night. They both agreed that it shouldn't happen again. Not because it was bad – it was, in fact really amazing, nothing to complain about – but it didn't feel quite right.

Well, it didn't really feel right with Echo either, but it was still better than just his hand. And at least, she hadn't been friends with Clarke.

On year three, when Raven told the crew that they might not be able to go back on time, everyone lost a bit of hope. They had no way of contacting the bunker, all communications systems being completely dead, and they didn't know how the Earth was like anymore or if their friends were even okay. They're alive and they're so grateful for it, but they've already spent so much time together, just the seven of them, and they really don't know what to do anymore with their free time. Harper and Monty even started fighting. Although it always ended up with makeup sex that kept everyone else awake for the night.

At some point near the end of the third year, Emori started feeling sick. Murphy was panicking and no one could help him relax. It's Echo that gave them the answer.

"She's pregnant."

To say it caused a fight would be an understatement. Bellamy, Monty and Raven were furious. Now really wasn't the right time. Emori, Murphy and Harper thought it might be a good thing. Echo was the only one keeping her opinions to herself until Emori turned to her.

"Echo, what do you think?"

For a second, she hesitates.

"Well, Clarke's not here... don't we have enough oxygen for one more person?"

It was the first time in a long time that someone said Clarke's name out loud and not in a hushed whisper. At least, around Bellamy. They knew it still hurt him too much to talk about her, so they always waited for him to be in another room to discuss Clarke. They all glanced at him, who seemed to be in deep thought. He then turned toward Raven, questions floating in his eyes.

"Do we?"

It didn't take long for her to have an answer. One baby is alright. Not ideal, but alright. But from that point on, everyone had to be extremely careful. No more mistakes.

On year four, when Emori started having contractions, everyone turned to Bellamy, who was there when Octavia was born. Everyone thought it would have been better if Clarke was there, but no one dared to say it aloud.

Harper and Murphy took Emori's hands, Echo applied cold water on her sweating face and Monty and Raven tried to help Bellamy as he was making sure Eban Murphy was alright.

Eban was a beautiful baby boy in perfectly good health. He helped them in a way they'd never imagined. He was a new light in their boring life. A new hope.

Three months after the beginning of year six, the news came with a running Raven.

"We're going home."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thank you so much for your comments on Chapter 1. I hope you'll love this chapter, too! Please remember, English is not my first language and writing this fanfic is my way of working on it and, hopefully, getting better.

 **Trigger warning : This part contains passages which may be triggering to some readers.**

* * *

The first days were probably the worst of her short life. The pain was so terrible that she thought that she might be already dead and burning in Hell. After all, she really thought she deserved it. With all the people she had killed... They had no place in Heaven for people like her, right?

When she finally realized that she was still alive, she used all her limited forces to go to the radio. It's painful, but she needed to try, even if a voice in her head was telling her that it's totally worthless.

"Bellamy? Are you there? Raven? Anyone? Please..." she cried into the radio, but no one answered.

And they never did.

For the days that followed, Clarke really started to lose hope. Bellamy wasn't responding to any of her messages and she was expecting the worst. Were they all dead? Did she failed her mission? She started imagining Bellamy in space, dead. She saw him in her head, lifeless, the light in his eyes completely gone. Never breathing again, never speaking again. Never having the chance to tell him exactly what he means for her. The tears followed the ones already on her cheek from the pain she was in.

She was all alone. Could she allow herself to be weak for once?

Alone. For at least five years.

"I'll probably be already dead by then." she told herself.

After all, if the radiation didn't kill her, she would starve. And even then, she would probably just end up losing her mind. She wouldn't even be surprised, to be honest. She was expecting it. When she told them to not wait, she thought she would die in the next fifteen minutes, if she was lucky. But almost five days later and there she was, still alive.

Surviving.

The voices of the dead filled the place, memories flooding her mind.

" _Don't you want us to survive, Jasper?_ "  
" _Nah, I don't want us to survive._ " he had answered. " _I want us to live._ "

At the time, she didn't understand him. She was fighting for the survival of the apocalypse without seeing the difference between living and surviving. Now, she was surviving, but definitely not living.

A part of her almost wished she wasn't even surviving. For once, she could understand Jasper perfectly.

Who would have guessed?

As the days went by, she talked to Bellamy every single day. She told him how time seemed to be longer now. How she was slowly feeling better, even though she was afraid she might have new scars on her face.

"I really wish they were fading away. I just... I don't want to look in the mirror and remember this forever." she paused, coughed a bit of blood. "Nice. Blood. Again. This is exactly what I don't want to remember. This pain. This sufferance. I just want it to disappear." she took a pause and muttered, "Maybe I want to do it, too."

That's probably what's scaring her the most. This urge to disappear. To not be there anymore.

" _Dying would be so simple._ " she often thought.

And it's true. No one would ever know she killed herself. What would be the point in fighting on? She can't contact the bunker. Her mom, Kane, Niylah... And she doesn't know if Bellamy, Raven, Monty, Harper, Murphy, Emori, and Echo are even alive. She's all alone.

"You know Bellamy, I'm afraid of myself. I have those thoughts... You could never have believed it, but it's true. And seriously, why do I keep fighting? It's pointless. I'll probably never see you again, right? I don't know, maybe I will. Maybe you're alive. Do you even hear me? God, I wish I could hear someone else voice. Anyone, really. Even Jaha's." she laughs for only a split second before crying every tear she had left.

On the fourth month, as she goes to sleep one night, she's almost certain she's gonna kill herself on the next morning. "Goodbye, Bellamy." she had said when ending her monologue. She just had to decide how she would proceed.

She had already cut her arm at one place, wondering how it would felt. Needless to say, she didn't like it. It made her feel weak.

Even weaker than she already was.

Hanging herself? Not an option either. If someone had to found her one day...No, she couldn't risk it.  
An overdose? A knife in the heart? A bullet in the head? Wouldn't it be just simpler to step outside without a suit on?

As she fell asleep, she dreamed of the faces of everyone she once loved. Abby, of course. Lexa, a lot. She was even prettier than Clarke remembered. Finn made an appearance too. Every friend she knows, dead or alive. And Bellamy, obviously. He's the most prominent one. He's always there, holding her. Telling her to stay strong.

"Have you lost your mind, princess?" he asked her.  
"I just can't do it anymore."  
"Yes, you can. You're the strongest person I know."  
"I'm not that strong!" she screamed. "I can't do it on my own for so long, blocked here. I just can't..."  
"You got me. Talk to me. I'm listening, always."  
"I'm already doing it but... But what if you're dead?" she cried.  
"Well...I guess you'll never know if you don't fight."

He started to evaporate, but just before he was completely gone, he laughed and said; "Besides, you and I are way too stubborn to die."

And so, when she woke up, she went to the radio. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the pain in her chest felt a bit more bearable.

"Hey Bellamy, it's me. Again. You might not understand it, but...Thank you. You just gave me hope when I thought it was impossible. Maybe you can't hear me, but the little possibility that you might still be alive and listening, it's saved me. Say hi to everyone, will you?"

And from that day, it became a little less terrible. She fought for her life because one day, her loved ones will come back to her. She had to believe it. She even started counting the days.

Five months and twelve days after Praimfaya, she started drawing again. It was hard at the beginning, but she slowly got back in touch with the way the pencil slides on the sheet. She drew her mom and her father first, near a river, holding hands. She drew Lexa as she was in the City of Light. A warrior with that fierce look in her eyes that Clarke loved. Monty and Jasper – with his goggles – doing their high-five. Raven working on some project. Harper and Monroe. Niylah in the morning. Wells playing chess. Finn pointing toward the two-headed deer. Roan fighting against Lexa. Octavia and Lincoln. Abby and Kane. Murphy with Emori. And Bellamy. His face is everywhere, alone or with someone else. She tried to draw every scene she remembers and stared at them for hours, reviving the memories.

"I was drawing and I remembered when you told me how much you hate bees. So, can you guess what I just drawn? Yes, you with a bee in your hair. You might be saying ' _but this never happened!_ '." she laughs at her own horrible imitation of Bellamy's voice. "But you're wrong! I knew you would be afraid if you knew a bee was on your head so I kept my mouth shut."

The memory was replaying in her mind. It was during the walk toward Arkadia after the genocide at Mount Weather. They were walking side by side without talking much. A bee was flying around them and had landed on his head. He was so lost in his thoughts that he never realized what happened, but Clarke did.

"Anyway, I've got to go outside. Find myself something to eat. Do you think I'm gonna grow a second head now? Finn asked me this once. I thought it was pretty appropriate now."

The days are all the same. She finds herself something to eat outside, – or at least, she tries. Sometimes, she doesn't eat for a couple of days, - she draws, read some of Becca's old books and talk to Bellamy. It's not much, but it's now enough. It has to be.

A morning, one year after Praimfaya, the radio makes a weird nose. Her heart skipped a beat when she hears someone's voice.

"Someone can hear me? Hello?"

It's not the voice she was expecting, but she still runs to the radio. She's breathless when she answered and her hands are shaking.

"Hello, I'm here! Who are you?"  
"I'm Madi. I'm six years old."

Clarke can't believe what she is hearing. Someone's alive and she's _six years old_? Is she officially crazy and hallucinating?

"Hey Madi, I'm Clarke." she says, trying to stay calm. "Are you outside?"  
"Yes. I'm a nightblood. You, too?"

A nightblood, of course. But still, surviving by herself for one year at this age? How is this even possible?

"Yes, I am. Madi, are you alone? Where are you?"  
"My sister just died." she says and Clarke can hear the pain in her voice even through the radio.

She explains to Clarke that her mom had hide her older sister, who was twelve years old. Being nightbloods, they had survived Praimfaya while their brothers, their youngest sister and their parents had died from the black rain and the radiations. Unfortunately, her sister died three days ago from starvation. Madi would probably not last much longer, too. But the chance is with them today; Madi isn't so far away from Clarke, only a couple of hours away.

"Okay, I'm coming to get you. I'll be there tonight, okay?"  
"Okay."

Clarke got to Bellamy's rover, packed her things and left as soon as she could. She was going to see another human being! She drove fast and was there before the sun was gone. She was more than relieved when a skinny and short little girl ran into her arms, even without really knowing who she is. Together, they decided to stay where Madi had been living. Clarke already has everything she needs in the rover and Madi doesn't want to leave this familiar place where she just buried her sister.

"She brings me peace. Joy. Something I wasn't sure I would ever know again. God, thank you again Bellamy. Even if you still don't understand why."

With Madi, life was so much better. Clarke taught her everything she knew and before any of them realized it, they had an unbreakable bond. But Madi was slowly forgetting pieces of her previous life due to her young age.

"Am I a bad person, Clarke?" she would ask her. "For forgetting them? I don't remember my mom's voice, or Mathis's eyes colors, or Alyse's doll's name, or -"  
"Madi," Clarke would interrupt, "you're not a bad person. It's normal, you were so young. But they will always live right here." she said and pointed toward her heart.  
"Is it the same, for you? The ones you lost, they live in your heart?"  
"Yes. Forever."

Clarke slowly took her family's place and together, they became their new home. Just the two of them, fighting against all odds.

Clarke told Madi about everything, about everyone. Strangely, when Madi told Clarke that she wasn't a bad guy, Clarke believed her. Children only say the truth, right? Madi was proud of her.

Clarke was on a pedestal in her eyes. She's her hero.

For Clarke, it was the other way around. Madi is the strongest little girl ever. Brave, intelligent, gentle and so kind. Clarke thought that if someone deserved to be an hero, that's the short and skinny little girl who could make Clarke laugh with only one silly face.

She talked to Bellamy about Madi everyday. How she still has some trouble to draw but is getting better everyday. How she now knows perfectly how to use a gun. How she loved to read the books from Becca's lab. Mostly the ones about Greek mythology.

"You and her would hit it off immediately. I might even be jealous!"

Madi learned everything Clarke knew about medicine, too. She now recognizes every constellation and knows the basic on how to fight. They had a lot of free time and use it for good.

On year five, when no one come from the bunker and her friends don't come back down to Earth, Clarke's old insecurities come back. But Madi is there now. And for her, Clarke knows she would fight until her dying breath.

"Why do you never say it to him?" Madi asked Clarke one afternoon.  
"Say what to him?"  
"That you love him."

It took Clarke a couple of minutes before replying. She has that knot in her stomach and she can see Madi is starting to feel bad about her question, but even then, she just can't speak.

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't get it right." Madi said.  
"No, you're right." Clarke said, finally able to talk again. "I just... I never said it to him. And when I do -because I will -, I want to look in his eyes, knowing he's hearing me."

Day 2199

"Here we go again." Clarke said to herself. "Bellamy, if you can hear me, if you're alive, it's been exactly 2199 days since Praimfaya. I don't know why I still do this every day. Maybe it's my way of staying sane. Not forgetting who I am... Who I was." she took a pause to look at the horizon. "It's been safe to come down for over a year now. Why haven't you? The bunker's gone silent, too. We tried digging them out for a while, but there was too much rubble. I haven't made contact with them, either. Anyway, I still have hope. Tell Raven to aim for the one spot of green, and you'll find me. The rest of the planet, for what I've seen, it basically sucks, so -"

A huge sound cut her off. She sees something flying in the sky and for a brief moment, she can't believe what she's seeing. She stands up, heart beating fast, a single tear streaming down on her cheeks and a smile on her lips.

"Never mind. I see you."

She ran to Madi, who still slept in the rover.

"Hey, my little nightblood." she said in Trigedasleng. "Time to wake up."  
"No lessons today." she complained, still half-asleep.

Clarke just waited for her to hear the sound of the rocket. Madi suddenly sat and looked at her, surprise in her eyes.

"Took you long enough." Clarke tease.

Madi laughed and ran outside, leaving Clarke in the rover. She smiled to herself and thought that yes, finally, she's going to see them all again. Her friends. Her family.  
Bellamy.

"I thought you said the ship was small!" Madi shouts.

Confused, Clarke jogged to her and immediately knew something's wrong. The ship is way too big to be her friends.

"Madi, go get my rifle. _Now_."

While looking at the ship through the rifle, Clarke is taken aback. The words "prisoner transport" are perfectly visible. Who are they? Where are they coming from? Clarke doesn't miss the irony in the situation. Prisoners, sent to see if the world is habitable after Praimfaya.

Only this time around, the grounder is Clarke.

"We're here! We're here!" Madi shouted before being cut off by Clarke who held her arms.  
"Stop! Get down!"

Madi looked at Clarke without understanding why she was acting like that. Wasn't this the friends she'd been talking on and about?

"I want you to back up the rover." Clarke continued, "Get it out of sight and load the guns."  
"All of them?"  
"All of them."

Madi ran towards the rover and Clarke stayed there. For the first time in forever, she doesn't feel safe on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you everyone for your comments on the previous chapters. It really means a lot! xx

* * *

"Eban, no! Don't do this! You're gonna fa…There you go."

Murphy rushed toward his son who had just started crying. Well, screaming would be more accurate. He didn't cry, his fall didn't physically hurt him. His almost two years old ego though… Yeah, that was hurt. And the fall had been scary for him.

"Hey buddy, don't cry, it's okay," Murphy said while hugging the boy close to his heart.

In two years, it had been pretty much obvious that Murphy was an amazing dad. At the beginning, everyone – except Emori – were kind of surprise to see him act like that. He clearly wasn't the strict parent. Actually, he was the opposite. He did everything his son asked him to do, much to Emori's despair. She tried to educate him, but almost every night when Eban began to cry, Murphy would lie down beside him until he falls asleep.

"He will never learn to fall asleep by himself if you realize each of his whims!" Emori said.  
"But he cries!"  
"Obviously he cries, he's not happy, but he has to learn."  
"I want my son to be happy."  
"John..."

Obviously, the rest of the group knew that Emori was right.  
However, Eban could cry really loud.  
And right now, that was what he was doing.

"Murphy, do something," Raven complained as she made the calculations necessary for their return to Earth for the hundredth time.  
"I'm trying!"  
"Where's Emori?" asked Monty, looking around the room.  
"She's with Echo and Harper."

Bellamy rolled his eyes, approached Murphy and stretched out his arms. Instantly, Eban jumps in the arms of his godfather and at the very moment when he is properly placed in his arms, he stopped crying.

"Are you kidding me," Murphy muttered.  
"I told you he loves me best."  
"Do you wanna get slapped?"  
"No, dad," Eban chided, his little arms holding Bellamy by the neck a little tighter.  
"I was only kidding."  
"Were you really?" Monty joked.  
"Maybe not."  
"Alright, Raven, any news? We're still good?" Bellamy asked the girl.  
"Yeah, I think so."  
"You think so?" Repeated Harper, who had just entered the room, accompanied by Echo and Emori.

Echo moved as far as possible from Bellamy. It was something common lately, though the others didn't understand why she was avoiding him like the plague in the last weeks. It was something quite personal that none of them wanted to share.

A month earlier, while they were making love, Echo had whispered something in Bellamy's ear. At first, he was convinced he had misunderstood, but then she had repeated it. He had suddenly stopped moving, rattled. Both were still sweating, their hearts pounding, but for very different reasons now.

"I love you," she had said.

The three words were repeated in a loop in his head. He knew she was waiting for him to say something, but...He had moved away, and he knew that this little movement had already hurt her. He wished he could have been able to say it back, but he just couldn't. She was Echo. She had tried to kill his sister. She wasn't a good person back then. But still, it was six years ago. She was a nice distraction and a decent friend now. He could move past all this. He did it with Murphy. But love? Like, real love? He just couldn't say it back. It was impossible. He wasn't in love with her and he knew it. He wished he could say it back and be happy. Living for real.

But he _couldn't_.

"Echo… I'm sorry," he said, feeling the guilt already weighing in his stomach.

She had remained motionless for a moment, looking at the wall. She had then got up, picked up her things quickly and headed for the door. Just before opening it, she had turned towards him, a tear running down her cheek.

"I'm sorry I'm not her."

He knew who she was talking about, but he didn't comment.

Since then, things were awkward. They didn't speak at all and she wouldn't even look at him unless she didn't have a choice. It wasn't a good situation for anyone, even for those who didn't understand what was going on.

"Alright," Raven resumed, "I'm sure we're still good. I've been looking at Earth and you see this?"

She showed them a picture of the earth, which didn't even look habitable.

"See what, brown? Yeah, would be hard to miss. It's everywhere," Murphy says.  
"Down, down, down!" Eban shouted from Bellamy's arms until he finally gets to be on the floor, where he strode to his handmade toys Monty and Harper made him.  
"Yeah, I know it's shitty, but look at this," Raven said.

They all looked at what seemed to be the only green spot on the little map.

"This, my friends, is where we are going to land."  
A paused, then; "Well, I hope."

"You hope?" Bellamy said, arms crossed on his chest and a familiar frown on his face, "What happened if we don't land exactly there?"  
"Probably nothing. The earth is survivable now. But communications systems are still dead and our best chances are somewhere where plants are growing and where animals might be going, if there's any. Besides, I'll try to land in this source of water, just there, you see? It's small, and shouldn't even be there, but it should make the landing easier.  
"And what if there's things in the water, now?" Murphy asked.  
"I guess we're going to find out then," Raven looked at her friends who seemed a bit unsure and smile, "So go pack your things. We are going home."

At the same time on Earth, Clarke and Madi were hiding in the trees. The newcomers had landed at the bottom of a small mountain, giving the girls a perfect spying opportunity from the top of the hill. Clarke didn't want to risk Madi's life by going near them. She remembered how she was at the beginning too, how she was afraid when she found out there was grounders on the ground.

If only it was just this.

As soon as they got down on Earth, they had used their radio to communicate. Clarke immediately stopped using hers, not wanting them to find her or Madi. It was hard, not being able to talk to Bellamy anymore, but it was the safest decision.

They had been there for three months already. For now, they knew it was the criminals sent to a mining colony on an asteroid beyond Mars, the ones Becca originally designed nightblood for, to help them adapt better to zero gravity and space. Or rather, it was their descendant. They were a lot, from all the ages. While looking at them, Clarke had a feeling of déjà vu. Well, on the first day. They had been running around and just really happy to be finally on the ground.  
It didn't take long though before they had fallen into a perfect routine.

There were a lot of guards walking around the camp, guns in hands. They had built an impressive fence and several buildings. It was a very good organization, much better than the dropship at the time. The children were all locked up in one of the buildings during the day to go to school and the adults were doing work for the camp all day while the guards were working on the horizons and going on patrols and hunting for the few animals, giving Madi and Clarke a hard time to find something to eat. At the beginning, Clarke was asking herself what could worry them so much that they were already in such a hurry to have food rations, shelters and, above all, a fence. A fence very well guarded and protected.

It took only four days for the girls to have an answer.

"Gellert say we need to find them. We're going on a patrol tomorrow," a man was saying on the radio.  
"It's stupid if you want my opinion," another man said.  
"No one asked for it, Brant," a woman's voice replied, though we could hear laughter in her voice.  
"They are still talking about it," Madi said, "What are we going to do?"  
"Nothing. We hide. We go to Polis. We try to get the others out of that bunker again. I'm not putting you at risk."  
"With the rover? They'll hear us."  
"No, on foot. It's going to be long, but you'll be safe."  
"What about you?" Madi asked, "You need to be safe, too."  
"I'm staying with you, don't worry," Clarke said and hugged the girl, "Madi, I'm serious. They're not gonna get to you, nor to me, okay?"  
"Okay… At least now we know at least someone was listening to your messages," Madi paused, looking confused, "I just wished we knew what they wanted to do with us."

Clarke didn't expect that Gellert's intention was only to talk. For what they've heard, they were pretty confused about how people could have survived on Earth and they wondered if there were more than just the girls they heard on the radio for years. They seemed to be afraid of thing is, they were probably nightbloods, too. Probably able to survive Praimfaya. But what if they didn't know it? She remembered how it was with the grounders at the beginning. Or the Mountain Men. She didn't trust the newcomers and there was no way in Hell that she was letting Madi near them. They could be inoffensive, but why risk it?

"Do you see that?" a woman's voice screams from the camp below them.

The girls looked up to see a rocket breaking through the sky. Clarke's heart missed a beat and before she can control herself, she steps forward.

"Movement in the trees!" a guard shouted, and guns were now already aimed towards them.  
"Madi, run!" Clarke says urgently as the two of them flee among the trees.

Grunts and complaints were heard as they landed in the water. Raven was quite proud of herself. She had well aimed her trajectory. The landing could have been smoother, though. They were all going to have bruises and a headache, but they were alive. Eban was crying and immediately removed from his seat by Murphy, who took him in his arms.

"Are you all alright?" She asked.  
"Open the door!" Echo shouts, and Bellamy thought that it was the first time in weeks that he hears her voice.

They detach their seat belts, get up and Monty opens the door. The fresh air caresses their faces and they all take a deep breath. They come out one by one, squinting from the sun, which they were no longer used to. The sky is still blue, the water is soft as they swim quickly to the shore, worried about what could live in it, Eban held by his parents who try as much as possible to keep him out of the water. The ground is still as hard, the trees still as green. Their clothes are wet, but they could not care less. They were back on Earth. At home.

"We have to go to Polis," Bellamy said, already thinking of Octavia.  
"We do not even know how to get there for now," Monty retorts, "Raven warned us that things might have changed here."  
"So let's find a way. We -"  
"Hands up!"

They all turn around, surprised, and their hands rise automatically in the air as they realize that several firearms are pointed at them. Bellamy and Raven exchange a look as a woman - probably in her mid-fifties, with gray strands in her black hair - approaches them with her guns lowered. It is obvious that she is the leader of this small group.

"Who are you?" She asks, staring at them.  
"We come from space. We escaped Praimfaya, like we called it, by going into space," Bellamy said, strangely reluctant at the idea of telling her their names.

The woman made eye contact with a man who is standing a few steps behind her. He nods and whispers something that only she can hear. She then turns to the group, her gaze rests on Eban, and she grins.

"Well, follow me. We don't want this little one to get sick now, do we?"

They hesitate, but obviously don't really have a choice. The guards are already all around them, surrounding them. Bellamy and the others have no choice but to move forward and follow the woman as they feel the look of the guards - and their guns - on their backs.

"And you, who are you?" Bellamy dares to ask.  
"We'll take you to our chef, you'll get the answers to all your questions soon," said the woman, "But don't worry, we come from up there, too."  
"Not like some others," mutters a man not far from Monty, but this one don't really have time to wonder about the meaning of his sentence that something much more interesting happened.

From where they are, they can see a fence and guards patrolling, inside as well as outside and on scaffolds. They can hear people talking and laughing, and for a second the group dare to hope that this might not be so bad. This kind of looked like Arkadia, back in the days.

"We got them surrounded," a man's voice says through the talkie-walkie of the woman.

Murmurs explode around them and Bellamy really wonders who "them" can be. Is it their friends in the bunker?

"Who –" Bellamy starts.

"We're coming," the woman answers, smiling, "Open the gate!" she screams, and a few guards came running towards them, "Bring them in, give them food, water, clothes, everything they need. I'll bring them to Gellert's myself later. We've got to go, they got them."

"You're serious Maria?" another woman says, a bit younger than Maria.

They both exchanged a smile and Bellamy wonder again if they're talking about their friends. Should he be afraid for their safety, once again?

"Maybe coming back wasn't so much of a good idea, after all," Murphy says in Bellamy ears and he can't help but agree with him.


	4. Chapter 4

It all happened in a heartbeat. So fast that Clarke couldn't even believed what happened. One second, she was running, Madi right by her side, and the other second the young girl was screaming and a man was holding her, a gun on her temple.

Clarke had her own gun aimed at the guard. Her gaze shifted between him and Madi, who was shaking. Clarke was calculating, weighing her options, wondering where to shoot so the bullet wouldn't hit Madi. No places seemed right. She had a flashback of when this situation happened with Lincoln, so many years ago. This time, things were quite different though. She couldn't hurt Madi and the man knew it. He knew he had her. She then heard footsteps behind her and just like that, she didn't really have any options anymore.

"Lower your gun, now," said a woman.  
"Let her go," Clarke snapped back.  
"We won't do any harm to her if you give us the gun right now."

Clarke hesitated. What would they do if they had their gun? She then clearly wouldn't have any chance to save Madi and herself. But the guard holds on Madi a bit tighter and she seemed to be afraid. Without a second thought, ignoring the voices shouting in her head that this was stupid, Clarke puts the gun on the ground and tossed it to the man who finally let Madi go and pushed her in Clarke's arms.

"Madi, are you okay?" she asked, looking down at her. Madi was shaking and a single tear fell from her eye, but otherwise, she was alright.

The man took the gun and handed it to another man who came out from behind a tree. Clarke finally realized how many of them were there. She could see about ten guns aimed toward them and she guessed that there were more of them, hiding. Waiting for a signal.

The woman who had spoken got into view and Clarke got a better look at her. Black hairs, dark eyes, tan and tall. She was much older than Clarke, in her fifties, and had that look on her face that Clarke didn't like. A look that seemed to say; " _Ah! Gotcha!_ "

"Get on the ground," she said, voice firm.  
"Clarke -," Madi started but didn't finish when she saw Clarke reluctantly bending and staying on her knees, hands in the air.  
"Do what they say, please," Clarke whispered. They didn't have a choice. They had guns and were outnumbered. And Clarke would do anything to make sure Madi was safe, even when she wanted to fight. If she had to do every single thing they asked her to do to keep her safe, she would. Without any doubts, any hesitation. She would die before letting them do something to her.

Madi seemed unsure, but finally did the same. They really couldn't do anything else. Two men – one blond and one with brown hair – came and forces them completely on the ground, their faces pressed against the hard and dirty ground. Madi pushed a sound when the brunette who was tying her wrists tied them too tight and Clarke started twisting under the weight of Blondie and shouting.

"Hey, leave her alone! Don't hurt her, you asshole!"  
"Shut up," said the blond one in Clarke's ear. She didn't love how he was touching her, his hands resting a bit longer than what was needed, kinda feeling her up. Clarke moved against him, trying to make him go away. He laughs, but thankfully didn't try anything else. Fortunately, the other one was not doing it to Madi or God knows what Clarke would have done.

The men pulled them up on their feet, their hands tied in their back and dirt on their faces. Clarke looked at the woman with pure hate in the eyes as she came close to them, eyeing the girls.

"Hmm... If you only knew how long we've been looking out for you," she then turned to the first guard, "Let's bring them to Gellert. We've got the newcomers to take care of, too."

The newcomers. Bellamy!

Clarke's heart was racing. She knew it was Bellamy. It had to be! She saw their ship coming down and this time she was a hundred percent sure it was them.  
Like, c'mon, how many other ships could come down now anyway? What was the chance that it was someone she didn't know, _again_?

But if they were here and the Miners got them… Did they even know who they were dealing with? They had to be careful. Clarke knew that the Miners were looking for her, but would they look for Bellamy, too, once they realized he was the one she was talking to for years? What would they do with this information?

Did she put him in danger all those years without even knowing it?

The guards pushed the girls to make them walk. Clarke wanted to talk to Madi, tell her how sorry she was and how everything was going to be fine, even if she didn't believe it herself. But with them so close…

"It's going to be alright," she finally said in Trigedasleng, which earned her a shot in the ribs with a gun by some guard who was walking next to her.  
"No talking in that filthy language, whatever that was, you freaking sava –"  
"Enough, Abou. Just walk," said the woman from earlier, who was now walking side by side with a man who look strikingly similar to her.  
"Maria, what is he -," started the man, but was cut off by the woman, Maria, who threw a meaningful look toward the girls.  
"Later, Maxim."

Madi looked at Clarke, who was trying to catch her breath again. She made a small head movement at the girl who seemed to be wondering if she was alright.

" _We're screwed._ " Clarke thought.

The gang was waiting for something to happen. They have been sent in a room where they could change and where there was a lot of food and water, but nothing else to do. Eban was slowly falling asleep in Murphy's arms and the others were looking at the buffet, picking up almost everything.

"God, it's even better than before, isn't?" Harper said, cheerfully.

Bellamy, however, couldn't eat. He knew something was wrong. He had tried to open the door, but it was locked and he didn't like it. Being confined in this place, not knowing if his sister's alright…

No, they had to get out of there. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his bone. His heart and his head were telling him to get the hell out of this place.

"Bellamy, relax," Echo sighed and Bellamy was surprised to hear her talk directly to him, "We are on the ground, they're giving us all those things -"  
"The Mountain Men did the same," Monty said, looking down at his plate in his hand with sudden disgust.

This made everyone lose the feeling of insouciance they had had. Were they in another deadly trap?

"It's been, what, an hour?" Raven said, "They should come to us soon."  
"And bring us to their chef, like that girl, Maria, said," Harper said, "I guess we will know what they want then."  
"She also said something about coming from space, too, right? How could this even be possible?" Emory asked.  
"Not like some others…" Monty muttered, remembering the sentence.  
"What?" Bellamy asked.  
"When we were walking," Monty explained, "Maria said that they were coming from space and that guard said; ' _Not like some others_ '."

They all stayed silent a moment, until Murphy broke the silence; "Well, I guess the mouse's out of his hole."

"What kind of expression is that?"  
"You mean the bunker?" Raven asked.  
"Of course, what else," Murphy said, ignoring Monty's question.  
"They talked about having surrounded some people," Bellamy said, "If they're out of the bunker and that's who those guys are talking about, we got a problem."  
"Let's talk to that Gellert first, whoever that is. I'm sure we can explain all of this then," Harper reasoned.

A cacophony then explodes outside of their room. They couldn't really figure out what was going on, but they could hear that they seemed to be excited.

After a few minutes where they tried to guess what was happening, the door finally burst open and Maria came in, a smile on her lips, following by a guard who had to be her brother. They both looked so much alike, though he seemed a bit younger.

"Alright, sorry for the wait. Follow me, we're bringing you to Gellert's and then to your rooms."  
"Our rooms?" Bellamy repeated.  
"Of course. We are not savages. You are our guests," said the man.  
"Alright, let's go," Maria gestured to them to move behind her and her brother followed from the end.

Outside, people were looking at them with curiosity in their eyes. Two little boys and three little girls came running in-between them, chasing each other and laughing. They seemed to be careless, happy. Exactly how kids should be on Earth. Emory and Murphy exchange a look, glad to know that their son could be like that, too.

"Wait, is there a toilet somewhere?" Echo, who was the last one in the row, asked the man.  
"Maxim, bring her to the washrooms," Maria said when everyone stopped walking, "Does anyone else need to go?"  
"I'll go with her," Harper said.  
"Fine, we will be waiting for you at Gellert's."

Maria started walking and the others – except Maxim, Harper and Echo – followed, even though they hesitate, not quite certain that it was a good idea to split. Maxim leads the girls in the camp to a small building with a "WOMEN" writing on the wood.

"I'll wait for you here."

Inside, there were three toilets and two showers. Two women were washing themselves and their kids, and two of the toilets seemed to be occupied.

"You go first," Harper suggested and Echo didn't need to be told a second time. Once she was done, she told Harper she would wait for her outside and go to stand beside Maxim, who was looking around, perfectly relaxed.

"Thank you," she said, "For all the things your people have given us."  
"It's our pleasure," he answered and smile at , as he was about the add something else, he tensed and looked like he was ready to fight at any second. Echo follows his gaze and froze when she saw her.

She first saw a little girl, no more than twelve, who was getting dragged into the mud, unconscious. They were passing by her, in the opposite direction of where Maria had led the others. Echo was wondering where they could possibly be taking her. She didn't know her, but she was wearing what seemed to be grounders clothes. Was she from the bunker? She didn't know all of them back then, so it was possible, right?

Behind her, two men were trying to fight back against a blonde girl. They look exhausted, ready to kill her. The girl was fighting, hard. Punching them, kicking them and biting them. They had the upper hand, of course, but she still put on quite a good fight for someone a head smaller than them. She was screaming someone's name, probably the girl's. Then, Echo and her locked eyes and time seemed to freeze. She stopped fighting and the guards finally got a better hold on her. Clarke's lips spelled Echo's name, but no sound came out.

A third guard came and before anyone could react, he punched Clarke right in the face. She falls slowly to the ground, being loosely held by the other guards who were now able to drag her, too. As she was passing near her, unconscious, Echo got a better look at her. She seemed tired, had a scratch on her face and her hair was shorter, but it was her, no hesitation.

Clarke Griffin was alive. Holy hell. She survived Praimfaya. How was that possible? The others would be so surprised and ecstatic. Bellamy would be…

 _Bellamy._

"You're alright? You look a bit white," Maxim said to Echo once Clarke was out of sight, as Harper was coming to them, completely unaware of what just happened.  
"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine…" Echo replied in a hush's voice.

They walked to the others. They were in a bigger building, probably the biggest, and were sitting on some wooden chairs, waiting for Gellert to show up. The room was quite big, but empty, with only a few chairs and a table at the center.

"Took you long enough," Maria teased her brother.  
"He's still not here?" he replied.  
"Must have been waiting for them to be all here. Sit, girls."

Harper sat on the chair near Monty and Echo got the one near Bellamy, who was talking to Raven. They both turned to look at her, their eyes filled with concern.

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Bellamy said.  
"Something happened outside?" Raven asked and look at Maxim with angry eyes.

Echo didn't know what to say for a few seconds. She looked at Raven, then at Bellamy. She was so desperately in love with him. The way he would hold her at night and kiss her gently. The way he would listen to her. The way he had forgiven her for what she had done. The way he would never tell her how much he wished she was someone else, even though she knew it. The way she just knew they could be so good for each other, so happy. The way he was looking at her right now, as if he was ready to fight to protect her... It was something she didn't need, obviously, but that he would do it anyway made her feel so good inside. She had been sad when he didn't say that he loved her, too. But she was way past this now. She knew she could do it. She loved him with all of her heart and she wanted him to be happy. With _her_.

In a split second, she had made her decision.

"No, I'm fine, just tired. Nothing happened," she said, a small smile playing on her lips, "Nothing at all."


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Thank you for your comments on Chapter 4 and sorry for the late update! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as the others. Lots of love!

La Bibliolâtre.

* * *

The gang were all waiting for Gellert to show up, Maria and Maxim watch over them. Echo kept looking at Bellamy sideways. She didn't feel guilty about her lie, not at all. She was pretty confident in her decision, but she was afraid he would find out. After all, they were in the same place as her now. But she also knows that, if he finds out she knew Clarke was alive and didn't tell them, she would be in deep trouble. Bellamy has moved on from Clarke, – after all, it's been six years since her presumed death – he wasn't okay with her death but he had accepted it. He still wished she was alive, but he knew that it was impossible to bring back someone, no matter how much you loved them.

But finding out she was actually alive? Echo was sure he would go crazy. He had been in love with Clarke Griffin and they almost lost him at the beginning because of it. Now even though he was back - more powerful than ever, their leader - he wouldn't let Clarke out of his sight ever again. And Echo didn't have any hesitation about what would happen next: They would fall back into what they had been and Bellamy would finally be able to tell her that he was in love with her, at least back in the days. Echo didn't know if it was still the case, but still, he would fall back in love with her in an instant. And Echo wouldn't have any chances anymore. No, she couldn't risk it. She needed him. She was in love with him and no one would take him away from her.

"Maybe we should leave this place," she says in his ear.  
"What?" he asks, surprised, "Why the change of mind?"  
"Something seems wrong," she says, knowing really well that it was all it takes.  
"Weren't you the one saying I should relax?"  
"I was wrong, okay? I saw… things, outside."  
"So something really happened? Why didn't you say anything?" he asks, now ready to fight back, "What was that?"  
"What's going on?" Monty's voice asks and now they realize they have everyone's eyes on them, except Maria and Maxim who were talking, or most likely arguing. Both seemed angry, gesticulating a lot. Even if they were keeping their voices low, anyone could understand that the tone was not affectionate.  
"Something happened outside," Bellamy resumed for the rest of them.  
"What? No, nothing happened," Harper said.  
"While you were in the washroom, they bring the people they were talking about. Those they had surrounded. I didn't want to talk because they were listening," she says and pointed toward the pair.  
"Echo, was it the ones from the bunker? Was it someone we know?" Bellamy asked, halfway standing and fire in his eyes.  
"No," she lied, "They didn't seem humans. More like reapers. I think the radiations did weird things and… I heard the guards talking. They were talking about experiments. I don't think we're safe here."

As if to give her reason, a bloody scream ran through the camp. Everyone seemed to hold on their breath until they heard Maxim say a low 'fuck' and run out of the room as if his pants were on fire.

"Alright," Bellamy says, looking at them, "We are leaving tonight, when everyone's asleep."  
"How do we do that?" Murphy asked, looking at Eban, who was still asleep in his arms.  
"They bring us to our rooms, I'll go look around, see what we do, and I'll go for you after."  
"You sure about that, Bell?" Raven asked, "What if they locked us in?"  
"We'll see then."  
"Encouraging," Monty muttered.  
"Does any of you got a better idea?" he asks, looking at Maria, who doesn't seem to be hearing them and is talking in her walkie-talkie, "They have guards everywhere and we don't know yet how the camp is made. If we all go, we will be easier to find and then we will have a problem. If I go alone, it's less risky and I can tell them that you didn't have anything to do with it. And if they lock us in her rooms… We will find another solution. We always do."

They all stay silent, before Emori say; "Alright then. Guess we will have to run fast."

"I'm sorry guys, but we seem to have a problem here," Maria says, coming to them and they all think for a second that their plan is already unmasked, "Gellert can't come right now he is… Well, he has something else to do," they can hear someone crying loudly in the background, but Maria act as if nothing is happening, "I'll bring you to your rooms right now and he will come to you tomorrow."

They all stand and walk toward the doors. Bellamy look at them and whisper; "Remember, wait for me. Don't do anything stupid. Right, Murphy?"

"Screw you."

As they walk in the camp, looking everywhere, trying to see how it's done and to know where to go once they will be alone, the crying seems worst and worst. For a split second, Echo feel kind of bad. What are they doing to Clarke and the young girl? But she pushed that feeling away. She can't feel like that. She had made a decision and now had to live with it, whatever happened.

She was lying directly on the ground. The three walls behind her were full of mold and the cell bars were rusty. When Clarke finally woke up - with a terrible headache - she instantly recognized the weird smell that was floating around.

Death.

It smells as if someone had been dead for a while now and was near her, though she was alone. She felt nauseous and had to refrain from throwing up on the floor, which would have simply worsened the smell. Her arms were shaking and her legs felt like they wouldn't support her weight, but she still tried to get up – unsuccessfully.

She crawls to the bars and hangs on them as she tried once again to stand. This time, it works. Her legs feel weak, but still. As she remembers gradually what happened, she tries to find a way out of the cell.

"No!" Madi screams from somewhere.

It only takes about one second for Clarke to react, to start shouting, and kicking the walls. She knows that it's useless, but she is ready to destroy these walls with her bare hands to go to Madi.

And then, an idea comes to her mind.

Echo.

She saw her! Echo has returned to Earth, meaning that the others are also there. She'll warn them and they'll help Madi, that's obvious. She didn't hallucinate, Echo had been right there! It's only a matter of time. It must be.

Madi's crying again. Her cry is so full of pain that Clarke feels her own heart twisting in her chest. The more she heard her cry, the more she felt enraged. As soon as she had them in front of her, she would kill them. No hesitation, no questions. Just plain murder.

While she thinks she is about to lose her mind, she hears someone approaching. A man approaches, whom she recognizes as the one who had spoken with Maria and who had been near Echo when they had seen each other. She thought his name was Maxim. He was holding a tray with food that was smelling really bad and didn't seem to be edible.

"What are you doing to her?" Clarke's screams, "Leave her alone! I'll do anything but please, just leave her alone!"  
"Eat," he simply orders.  
"I'm serious!" Clarke says, not caring one bit about the damn food, "Don't hurt her. She's only eleven! She doesn't have anything to do with it, I was the one you wanted! Let her go! Please… Please."

For a moment, so brief that Clarke thought she had imagined it, Maxim seemed to have pity. But he quickly recomposes himself and put the tray in front of her cell.

"Eat," he repeats.

As he was leaving and Clarke is letting herself fall on the ground, feeling a pain in her whole body like she hasn't felt in a long time, the guy turns to her.

"We aren't hurting her."

Clarke stared at him as if he just grows a second head.

"I can hear her screaming, you vile –"

"We are not hurting her. We don't hurt children. She isn't crying because of this."

"Why then?" Clarke screams, "What are you doing to her? Why would you put a child through this?" she cries and she doesn't even care that he sees the tears streaming down her face, "Please, I love her. I would do anything. She's so… Please, just leave her alone. Let her go."

He comes a bit closer and kneels in front of her.

"Clarke, I have a daughter, too," he says, "I wouldn't let them hurt her like you imagine, okay?"  
"What do you want from us?"He hesitates.  
"I don't know. No one really does except Gellert," he finally says, much to Clarke's despair.

He gets up and gets ready to leave, but stops one last time. Without turning, he adds; "But precisely, I think that's what Gellert is counting on. Your love for your daughter and what you're willing to do for her."  
"I would do anything for her," Clarke snapped.

Maxim looks at her in a way that reminds her of her own father. A mixture of affection and sadness that Clarke doesn't really understand."Yeah, that's the point."

Echo, Raven and Bellamy had separate rooms, as if the miners already knew that none of them were together, unlike Monty and Harper, and Murphy, Eban and Emori, who shared their rooms. The rooms were all quite simple. All white, a bed and a small dresser. It kind of looked like the Sky Box.

The moon was now up in the sky and the outside was less and less noisy. Bellamy would go and look about every ten minutes to see if he was trapped there, but no. He could open the door every time he wanted.

They _trust_ them.

When the crowd outside finally got silent, Bellamy got into action. It was maybe his only opportunity. He got outside, looking everywhere, cursing himself about not having a gun on him. It wasn't useful on the Ark. He walked, looking everywhere, hiding in the corners as soon as he heard someone coming closer. He didn't know what would happen if they find him out of his room, but he didn't want to risk it.

After a while, there were only two identical buildings he didn't inspect, and it was obvious that the only way out was the main entrance, which was still pretty guarded, even at night. They were probably still on watch because of the grounders Echo talked about.

Bellamy couldn't believe that some people survived Praimfaya. Again. Even if, based on what Echo had said, they were no longer very human. It reminded him of Clarke, and the decision he had made. Today, his head knew he had done the right thing. The others had been safe. But his heart always said something else. He still felt guilty for having abandoned her on that damn planet. If they had waited for her a few more seconds, would she have been able to come back? He would never know exactly what had happened to her and that...That might have been as terrible as knowing every detail of her death. Even today, he sometimes dreamed of her, or imagined her there, near him. Then, his heart seemed to be stabbed when he realizes she had been gone for six years now. It was longer than the time he had been with her. He still felt guilty about not telling her about his feelings at the time, but it was too late today. At least, if there was something after death... They would meet again.

As he was about to turn back and headed for the group, he saw Maxim coming out of one of the building he didn't see with two other men. The three of them looked exhausted and preoccupied.

Curiosity got the best of him and Bellamy ran into that building, even though it was written on a small board "Authorized Personnel Only".

It's always those kinds of places that have the most interesting stuff.

Inside, he saw stairs going down on the ground. The place seemed dark and smelled terrible. He had his left leg on the first stair when he heard a muffled cry. He ran toward the sound, wishing the place had a better lighting.

There where a lot of cells who were all unoccupied, except one. In the last one on the right, he could see someone rocking himself back and forth on the ground. He must have made a noise, because the person looks up, her eyes falling directly into his.

Bellamy he's taken aback by what he sees. He must blink a few times to believe what's in front of him.

"What the _hell_ …" he muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter is the longest yet! I don't even know how this happened, but... be happy! And btw, thank you so much for reading my story. Love you a lot. x

* * *

Bellamy was expecting a lot of things. Reapers. Things that would look like demons. Hell, he could have seen vampires, werewolves, Hulk or some damn fairies and not be that surprised. Really, he was expecting everything now. He was ready. But what was in front of him was so… normal. So normal that it was probably the only thing he didn't expect.

The little girl was crying in her cell, all alone. She didn't look old, between eleven and thirteen probably. Her face was red from all the crying and she was looking at him without really seeing him. Like she could see right through him. Like he wasn't even there. He could hear her muttering something under her breath on repeat, but he couldn't figure out what she was saying.  
If he had to pick one word to describe her, it would be "broken".

Bellamy didn't know what to do. She didn't look like the reapers, obviously. She couldn't be the one Echo talked about. Besides, he was more and more confuse about what she had told them. He hadn't found anything wrong with this place, except this girl. Granted, he didn't look into the bunker right beside this one, but still. But who could she be then? She was wearing grounders clothes so maybe she was from the bunker, after all. Could Echo have been wrong? He didn't know what to think of this all anymore.

"Hey there," Bellamy says, trying to be gentle, "Are you okay?"

" _Stupid question_ ," he thought. __Of course__ she wasn't okay.

"It's over…" she simply said, looking more at the walls behind Bellamy than at Bellamy himself.  
"What? What's over?"  
"It's over… It's over… No, no, no, no…"

She started crying again, holding herself and shaking. Bellamy didn't know what to do. He didn't know what – or __who__ \- she was talking about, but he couldn't let her be like that. His instincts kick in and right then, he didn't really care about running away. He just wanted the girl to be alright.

"I'll get you out of here, okay?" he says, but she didn't answer. She didn't even seem to be hearing him.

Bellamy looked everywhere, trying to find a way out for her. The doors of the cells each had a little lock, to Bellamy's despair. He looked down the hall, on the floor, the walls, everywhere. But he found nothing. No keys who could have been dropped or forgotten. And they clearly didn't let them on the walls near the cells. But c'mon, they had to be somewhere! And he hoped it was not in Maxim's pockets or in another guard's. He didn't want to try and break the damn door. He glanced at the stairs, hesitating to get away from her, even though she seemed so unaware of his presence that him being right there next to her or on another planet wouldn't make such a huge difference.

After telling her that he wasn't going far away, just there – and she still didn't acknowledge him -, he walked up the stairs and climbed the first steps, looking up to see if the keys were there. And bingo! A key-chain was hanging on the wall, right by the door. It was almost too easy.

"Hey, I found the keys. I'll pick them up and bring them back, okay?"

The girl did not answer. Bellamy climbed the stairs at full speed, grabbed the keys and went back to her.

"I've got them. I'll get you out of this place now."

He curses when he took the time to look at the chain. There were so many keys! How could the miners even know which key goes with which locket? That was a mystery for shaking fingers and heavy breath, Bellamy tried almost every one of them before finding the right one. The key slipped into the lock perfectly, the door, making a noise as she unlocked. Bellamy kept glancing at the stairs, expecting someone to come and ruin his plan - which was certainly far from being infallible.

"Come with me. You're safe," he says once the door is fully open, reaching out for her.

She put her little hand in his and followed him as he led her out of the building. They walk subtly through the camp, hiding when someone approach, just like Bellamy had done when he was alone. The girl still seems a bit woozy, more or less unaware of what was happening. She was doing everything he asked, but never talked. She was like a robot.  
Bellamy looked at her a couple of times, but, for what he was seeing, she didn't look physically hurt. He thought that the pain she was clearly in was probably another kind of pain. Something that couldn't be seen. Something psychological. Like a heartbreak, maybe? She sure looked like she was about to collapse on the ground and start crying.

After about ten stressful minutes, Bellamy managed to lead them to the others. He knocks at the door of Harper and Monty's room, which were the closest. Monty opened the door, expecting Bellamy to tell him that either it was time to leave, or that they couldn't leave. But he just wasn't expecting that. Who would have? He looks at Bellamy with confusion in his eyes, not understanding why a crying girl is holding his leader's hand.

"Go find the others," Bellamy commands, entering the room.  
"Wha… yeah, okay, yeah, but what... O-Okay," he mumbled.  
"Bellamy, what's going on?" Harper asked as Monty closes the door behind him.  
"I… don't know," he admitted and Harper looks at him like he had just lost his mind… Which he thought could be the truth right now.

Did he just screw up everything?

"You can sit here, sweetie," Harper says to the girl, who follow her without making a fuss, and lead her to the bed.  
"Hey, Bellamy what… Oh God. _Of course_ , if there's someone who can come back from such a simple mission with a child, it's you," Murphy exclaims as he enters the room, followed by the rest of the group.  
"Bellamy, what the hell does that mean?" Raven asked.  
"I found her in an underground cell. I couldn't let her there."  
"She doesn't look like a reaper," Emori said, looking at the girl and then at Echo.  
"Echo, is this the person you saw?" Raven turned toward her.

Echo was sure she looked like a deer caught in headlights, but tried to recover quickly.

"Of course not!" she lied, "That's just a girl. I never saw her before."  
"I didn't find anyone else," Bellamy argues.  
"You looked everywhere?" asked Monty.  
"Almost," he replied, "Let's say that the camp is divided into three sectors. Sector A being on the left side of the camp entrance, sector C is on the right side and sector B being in between. You follow me so far? Good. So, sector A seems to be the places where they eat, train and there's even something that looks like a school. Quite simple. Sector B is where we were earlier. Gellert's office and all. I couldn't go everywhere there because the doors were locked and some places were guarded, so I didn't really see what was inside. I've only seen the MED bay. Anyway, sector C consists of rooms, little houses. But between sectors A and B, there are two small buildings. I think these are prisons. That's where I found her," he said, pointing to the girl, "She was alone."

Echo didn't feel any better, even though she knew the girl had been alone in her cell. Clarke just had to be in the other prison and the girl would talk soon enough.

Damn, she was in trouble.

While a heavy silence weighed over the group, Eban walked over to the bed and sat down beside the girl. She turned to him and, to everyone's – mostly Bellamy's - surprise, offered him a small smile. It looked like it hurt and wasn't really sincere, but it was still there.

"What is you name?" Eban asked.

In the last few months, it had become easier to understand what he was saying, even though it was still a bit hard for him. His sentences weren't always perfect, of course, but he was trying really hard.

At least when he bothers to talk.

"Madi," she answered, "You?"  
"Eban!" he exclaimed, proudly. "Why is you crying? Mama, why Madi cry?"

As Emori was about to answer something, someone knocked on the door, causing them to jump. They exchanged frightened looks as Maxim spoke from the corridor.

"I know you're all in there. Please, open the door."  
"No, don't!" Harper half-shouted, half-whispered, from where she is standing near Madi, a hand on the girl's shoulder.  
"What else can we do?" Monty muttered.

Echo sighed and, under the horrified protests of her friends, went to open the door. Maxim stood there, perfectly calm, until he saw Madi on the bed. He rushed into the room after checking that no one had seen him and closed the door behind him.

"What the hell are you doing? Have you all lost your minds?" he exclaimed, scandalized.  
"We could ask you the same thing," Bellamy objects, "Why was she locked in?"  
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. It's a long story," Maxim sigh, and after a pause, continued, "Maria told me that Gellert was supposed to explain it to you, but…"  
"Honestly, we don't care about that Gellert. We are leaving this place and she's coming with us."  
"No, you don't understand –"  
"Yeah, exactly. You're going to explain this all to us right now or you're letting us leave."  
"But Gellert… Okay, alright, I'll bring you to him. The rest of you stay here with her, and don't let anyone else enter unless it's me, got it?" he paused, waited for their confirmations, "Good, let's go."

Maxim opened the door for Bellamy and both of them went outside. The others remained there, motionless for a few seconds. They were all feeling the same fears and doubts. They looked at Madi, who seemed lost in her thoughts and confused. Raven could not help thinking that Bellamy had spoiled everything by bringing her back among them. She didn't want to be mean, but… They just got back here. They had found peace in space. Couldn't they keep that down here? C'mon, was Earth the victim of a malediction? Or was it them? Were they really that unlucky?

"Wait…" Madi muttered.

Madi slipped her hand into a small opening in her jacket. The others watched her, more than a little curious. She took out a small sketchbook and turned the pages rapidly, knowing exactly what she was looking for. The pages seemed to be full of drawings that the others didn't even have time to see before Madi stopped on a page and watched her carefully for a few seconds, hiding the drawing so that they couldn't see what she was looking at. Her red face suddenly lost all colors and she gasped. She placed the closed book on her thighs and hesitated briefly before asking; "Was that Bellamy Blake?"

Maxim and Bellamy walk's to Gellert's office was much simpler then the one Bellamy took earlier, but just as stressful. The guards who were passing near them glared curiously at them, but left them alone. The camp was still mostly asleep and peaceful, just like it was supposed to be. Bellamy was more than relieved to realize that nobody - except Maxim - seemed to be aware of Madi's disappearance. Bellamy didn't entirely trusted Maxim yet, but he was still the person he would choose over anyone else in this camp to be with right now. He acted like he wanted to help them in some way. Everything wasn't clear, but he obviously wasn't an enemy for now. Or else, he would have acted differently after finding Madi.

But Bellamy knows that nothing is black or white. Nothing's so simple.

"What did you say your name was already?" Maxim asked once they were near Gellert's office.  
"I never told you."  
"Alright then; What's your name?"

Bellamy sigh, hesitated, and capitulated; "Bellamy. Bellamy Blake."

Maxim stopped dead in his track and faced him.

"What did you say?"  
"I said my name's Bellamy?" he repeats, though it sounds more like a question.  
"Bellamy Blake? Oh… Oh God. Alright, you need to go back to your friends right now." said Maxim in a strangely urgent tone.  
"Wait, what's going on? You had to take me to Gellert so he could explain the situation," Bellamy said, trying to get rid of Maxim's grip, who was dragging him by the road they had just taken.

Bellamy wasn't planning on going to Gellert anymore, - Maxim's reaction was weird enough - but he didn't like to be dragged like that.

"Change of plans. I'll explain what I know, but you and your friends have to get out of here. Take Madi and run. Fast. I'll cover you for as long as I can."  
"Maxim, what the hell is going on?"

Maxim swore and began to speak in such a low tone that Bellamy had to come closer to hear what he was saying.

"Look, I don't know much, okay? Maria is probably the one's who know the most and still… You just have to know that Gellert is looking for you right now - without even knowing who you are - and that Madi will be much safer if you help her leave this place. Everyone will be," he then paused and added something under his breath, so low that Bellamy wasn't even sure he actually said it, " _ _Almost__ everyone."  
"Why would Gellert be looking for me?" Bellamy asked with the same tone, confuse.  
"I told you, it's a long story. It's because of -" he begins to say as he opens the door to Harper's and Monty's room.

Echo turns to them as they enter, but she is the only one. The others have all their eyes on Eban, who is asking Madi; "How do you know uncle Bellamy?"

"I guess I've got some explanations to give," Maxim muttered.  
"Damn right you do," Bellamy says, looking at Madi, who was looking at him, agape.  
"It's… It's really a long story," Maxim started.  
"Make it shorter."  
"Long story short, huh? Alright, hmm…"

At the same moment that Echo began to cough to cover what he said, Maxim took a deep breath and said so quickly that everybody was sure that they had misunderstood; "Clarke Griffin."

Almost at the same time, Clarke had her back resting against the wall of the cell and stared at the wall in front of her, counting the cracks. Her hands were in blood and her feet were sore from trying to get out of this damn prison. She had tried to separate the bars, she had scratched the floor, kicked to break the cell but there was nothing to do. She had screamed, threatened the guards, refused to eat, but everything she did was useless. She was trapped.

The outside was calmer now and it had been a while now since the last time she heard Madi scream. And it freaking terrifies her. She repeated to herself what the man, Maxim, had told her, that they wouldn't hurt her like that, but... but what if she was dead? Clarke knew she couldn't take it. She couldn't bear it. Madi was her whole life now.

Voices were then heard from the top of the stairs. Clarke jerked herself into the back of her cell as she heard them approach. Two guards and one man in a suit and tie came close. One of the guards unfolded a plastic chair for the man in a suit, who sat quietly on it and just looked Clarke for what seemed to be an eternity. The two guards remained totally motionless at his side, their hands resting on their firearms, clinging to their belts.

The man seemed around the same ages as Maria and Maxim, but it was hard to tell. His hair was short and brown with few white strands. This man seemed to have an aura of power and authority. The small smirk on his lips showed how much he felt in control of the situation. He was totally relaxed, watching Clarke quietly. His legs, which seemed to stretch for days, were thin and muscular. Actually, his whole body was. The fact that he was a particularly handsome man for his age pissed off Clarke even more.

"Can I help you?" Clarke finally asked, tired of the way he was looking at her, like she was some kind of curious little thing he didn't quite understand. Or like he was undressing her with his eyes. One way or another, his gaze made her feel uncomfortable.  
"Yes, you may."  
"Where's Madi? Is she alright?" Clarke asked, getting closer to him to be sure to see on his face if he was lying.  
"Ah, __Madi__ , such a lovely name for a lovely girl."  
"Is she alright?" she repeated, already done with this conversation.  
"Of course. At this hour, she must be peacefully asleep."  
"What did you do to her?"

Clarke felt the anger rising in her, but she tried to control herself. She knew she would not get anything from this man if she got carried away by her feelings.

"Me? Nothing."

Clarke was about to scream something to his face, - probably about how she wanted to kill him in a painful and slow way - but he started laughing, surprising her.

"Calm down, Clarke. Madi is fine. My men just talked to her. She's a nice young lady. Must be taking this from her mother. Even though we both know she's not your biological child, am I right? Still..." he smiled at her and Clarke thought that she might puke right there on his shiny shoes.  
"So you're telling me that she was crying and screaming because you __talked__ to her? Do you think I'm stupid?"  
"I never mentioned what they said to her, did I?"

Clarke remained silent, staring at him. Then; "You're Gellert, aren't you?"

"I am indeed. I thought that you and I could make a deal."


	7. Chapter 7

I hope you'll love this chapter! xx

* * *

Clarke stood there, completely motionless, for a moment, her gaze fixed on Gellert.

"What kind of deal?" she finally asked, already knowing that this was a bad idea.

A smile spread on Gellert's face. He got up and ran his hands over his suit, like to remove invisible folds. Gellert motioned to the guard on his right to take the chair and told the other to open the door of the cell. Clarke stepped back into it, her heart beating fast. As the guard approached her and grabbed her arm, she began to struggle. She was really getting sick of all of it.

"Please, Clarke, don't do this. We'll just take you to a more… appropriate place. To discuss."  
"I feel very good here, thank you."  
"Is that so?" he asks and makes a sign to the guard, who stops trying to take Clarke out of the cell.  
"I won't follow you anywhere," Clarke said with as much assurance as she could put in her voice.  
"No? Not even for Madi?"

Clarke felt trapped. Part of her knows she should not follow him to God-knows-where. She didn't trust Gellert. At all. There was something about him… Something she recognizes as the look she had always seen on every single one of her enemies' faces. But another part of her knew it was the only thing to do to help Madi right now.

"Why can't we just speak here?" she asked.  
"I just thought that we could make ourselves more comfortable. Wouldn't it be nicer, for the both of us?"  
"I _guess_ ," mumbled Clarke.  
"Then follow us."

He walked down the aisle, followed by the two guards who had each caught one of Clarke's arms. Clarke's legs were still weak, but she was determined to look as strong as possible. She raised her chin, straightened her shoulders, and walked with as much assurance as she could. It was a small imitation of what she could usually do, but it was much better than an image of a frightened woman.

Leaving the prison, Clarke watched the surroundings as much as possible. They walked to the left and walked a few minutes before entering what appeared to be a meeting room. The room was mostly empty, with only a few wooden chairs and a desk. Gellert, then opened a hidden door in the back of the room. The guards guided Clarke inside and Gellert closed the door behind them, locking it. This room was much more beautiful. A double canopy bed was in the right corner, next to a dresser, a sofa and a small library. On the other side, there was a desk and three chairs, two on one side, one on the other. Candles were placed here and there, illuminating the room. Clarke wondered if every room looked like that.

Gellert walked over to the desk and sat down, inviting Clarke to sit in front of him. Having no other choice, she did what he asked her, even though what she really wanted to do was… Much more morbid.

"So, what kind of deal?"  
"Eager?" Gellert asked with a laugh, "Alright. The kind of deal that would be really beneficial for Madi."

Clarke sighs. Couldn't he just stop talking about nothing and say what he really want?

"Just tell me what you want."

Gellert suddenly becomes more serious. He folded his hands in front of him and watched Clarke very carefully.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about the bunker you talked about in your messages."  
"That's it? Why? What would you do with this?"  
"No. I want you to tell me everything you know about the bunker and the people living in it. You must spare no details."  
"Or what?"  
"And," he continued, "I want you to tell me everything about the people you were trying to contact," he took out a list of a drawer and consulted it, "Raven, Emori, Echo, Murphy, Monty, Harper and, obviously, Bellamy Blake. I want to know everything about them. I want to have all of their full names, what they look like, any information that may be useful to us."

Clarke felt her heart sink in her chest and her breathing becomes harder. She tried to remain calm, to give the illusion of being completely in control of herself, but she felt her palms becoming moist and was seriously thinking about just... being Wanheda again. Attacking a guard, taking a rifle and killing them all. Even though it wouldn't be that easy.

"Why would I do that for?"  
"Perhaps to keep Madi alive?"

The bastard.

"What would you do with this information?"

Clarke thought of the space shuttle of her friends, whom she had seen come down. At this point, they had to be far enough away from the Miners to be safe. And the ones in the bunker... were they even alive? Her mom, Kane, Octavia, Miller, Niylah… Were they all dead already?

"We will kill them all, of course. And you, my dear, will be safe. Along side your daughter."

Clarke had to stop and think about how to breathe again.

"Are you crazy? They hadn't done a single thing to you."  
"Clarke, dear, remember, we heard every single one of your transmissions to Mr. Blake. We know what all those people are capable of. I want what's best for my people. I want them to be safe. Not living with this kind of… monsters. We will purge this planet."  
"So you're gonna kill everyone else? Don't you think it's a bit drastic? Besides, I was Wanheda. Commander of _death_. Why would _you_ make a deal with _me_? Don't you think _I_ should be the one to be afraid of?"  
"Parenthood changes people, Clarke. I know you did. I did, too. With you by my side, we would make such a great team."

Before she could answer, Gellert continued; "You should think about it with more consideration. This decision is the only thing keeping Madi alive."

/

"Clarke Griffin" Maxim had said.

Even if Echo had tried to hide what he had said with a cough, the others froze. Maxim threw a puzzled look to Echo, who seemed like she was about to faint.

"What did you say?" Bellamy asked, persuaded that he had misunderstood.  
"What did Clarke have to do with all of this?" Raven asked in a small voice.

Realizing that he had not misunderstood, Bellamy had the impression that he would either lose consciousness or puke directly on the floor. Either way, black dots were dancing in front of his eyes and he was barely aware of Harper putting her hand on his arm.

Maxim glanced at Echo, who looked like she was going to start crying in the next seconds. He didn't understand what was happening. Weren't they Clarke's friends? Besides, now he remembered that Echo had seen Clarke and Madi. Why didn't she talk to her friends about it? And then, he realized. She didn't want, for an unknown reason, her friends to know that Clarke was alive.

"She's dead…" murmured Madi, letting a few tears rolling on her cheeks.  
"Of course, she's dead," Murphy says, "Praimfaya killed her."  
"Then how would she know this girl?" Emori asked.  
"Your friend didn't die in Praimfaya," Said Maxim, glancing at Echo, "She was taken here at the same time as you, along Madi."

They all stood there staring at Maxim as if he were mad. Then, little by little, they turned to Bellamy, who stared at the ground, completely distraught. His heart beat hard and fast and he didn't know how to feel. Clarke had survived at Praimfaya. He had abandoned her here, all alone. He…

Wait.

He turned toward Madi, who was the only one not looking at him; "What do you mean, she's dead?"

He refused to believe it. She had not survived for six years, just to die the day they returned to Earth!

Madi turned to Maxim and spat on the ground.

" _They_ killed her."

The squad watched Maxim with murderous looks. Maxim was about to tell them the truth, that she was still in her cell, safe, but Echo's gaze stopped him. They had a silent conversation until Maxim lowered his head.

"She fought too hard for Madi, who had fainted because of an idiot who – Anyway, it was an accident," he lied, looking at Echo to make sure he had said the right thing.

Bellamy felt like he could feel his heart breaking into several pieces. He sat on the bed, trembling, staring into space. He had just lost her for the second time. He thought that this fucking planet was indeed cursed.

Echo, meanwhile, thought that Maxim was her guardian angel.

"I'm sorry," Maxim finished.

Raven and Monty exchanged a glance, their eyes full of water. They were worried about Bellamy, like all the others. As much as they were sad about the fate of their friend, they were also afraid that Bellamy would go down again. Everything was so… They just couldn't believe it.

"Wait," Monty says, "Echo, you talked about _reapers_ , not about _Clarke_."

Raven glanced at Echo, and then at Bellamy. She quietly began to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but Maxim cut short her thoughts.

"Reapers?"  
"Yes, those weird looking people your guards brought in. They looked a bit like people we knew before whom we called Reapers. Your guards talked about doing experiments on them," Echo said, wishing that he would act like it was the truth once again.

Maxim hesitated a moment.

"Well, we, hmm, we did find weird looking corpses. That's who you've seen. They were already dead. Hmm… I guess radiations did weird things to them. We wanted to know more about them, obviously."

Normally, Bellamy would have guessed right away that something was wrong. Maxim was stuttering too much, he was hesitant and was casting too much glance at Echo, as if he was seeking her approval. All the others suspected that something was wrong. They just didn't know what to do. And besides, they were each wondering if they were imagining it. Eban had taken Madi's hand in his as the girl was crying. Yet, now she had raised her head and was looking at Maxim curiously.

"Madi?" Raven asked her, hoping the girl would say something to sort out the situation.  
"We've never seen any corpses before."  
"Show us the bodies of these monsters," Murphy said, then, after glancing at Bellamy, "And Clarke's. Afterwards, we'll believe you."  
"You don't seem to understand the situation," said Maxim, "You're in danger here. Gellert was looking for Clarke and I know he's looking for you, too. "  
"And why's that?" asked Harper.  
"It's because of the messages," explained Madi, "Clarke tried to contact you, but obviously they didn't get to you."

Bellamy imagined Clarke trying to talk to them for six years and he felt even more guilty than before. But now, he had to act. He stood up, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at Maxim like he wanted to kill him. Which was pretty near the truth.

"I don't know exactly what Gellert wants," Maxim says, feeling strangely little under Bellamy's gaze even though they're the same height, "Only a few people are in the secret. His son, Jakob, and Maria are probably the only ones who know the most."  
"Why Maria?"  
"Because she's his ex-wife. And Jakob's mom."

/

After about an hour, where Gellert had left Clarke alone in the room with the guards, he came back, a smile on his face.

"Hello, darling. Do you have an answer for me?"  
"I want to see Madi."  
"This is not…"  
"I want to see Madi. I want to talk to her. Alone. I want her to stay with me, not in some cell. And then…" she took a deep breath, "Then I will help you."

Gellert thought about it for a few minutes, before nodding to one of the guards.

"Go get the girl," he turned to Clarke, "My dear friend, I think we have a deal here."

As he walked around the room smiling and singing, Clarke knows that this hard decision was her only choice. She had to save Madi and she hoped her friends were already far away and safe. She couldn't do anything for them anymore.

A few minutes later, the guard who was supposed to pick up Madi returned, all alone. Clarke stood up, already ready to fight with her bare hands.

"Where's the girl, Brant?"  
"She's gone, sir. No sign of her. Her cell was unlocked."

Clarke hesitated between being relieved and distraught. Obviously, Madi was no longer in her cell and it was not because of the Miners. But were they lying? Had she run away? With whom? How? Where? Was she safe now?

Gellert made a sign to the second guard, who walked towards Clarke. Being totally lost in her thoughts, Clarke didn't expect the guard to lift his gun and strike her on the head, causing her to fully lose consciousness.

/

"Alright, here what we're going to do," Maxim was saying, "I've messaged my daughter. She's about the same age as Madi, same height and weight. She will bring some clothes for her. Then, I'll get you out of here, three at a time."  
"What about the bodies? We want to see them," Bellamy says.  
"There's no time!" Echo shouted, "Do you hear what he's saying? We need to leave."  
"Yeah, I'm sure you really wanna leave this place," Raven says.  
"What's your problem?"  
"I think you know damn well what it is."  
"Can't we do that later?" Emori asked, holding Eban in her arms.

As everyone started talking at the same time, someone knocked on the door. It must have been a signal that Maxim recognized because he opened the door without hesitation. A girl of about twelve years entered the room. She had long black hair and piercing green eyes, she looked very much like her father. She held several pieces of clothing in her hands. Seeing the small crowd in front of her, she stopped and gave her father an uncertain look.

"Alex, you have to keep it secret, okay? These people have to get out of here, and very quickly. You're gonna give your clothes and go home without any further questions, got it?"  
"Got it," the girl, Alex, says, "But you should know that I saw Jakob while coming here. He doesn't look really happy."  
"What was he doing?"  
"He was talking with a few guards. He –"

As she was about to add something, an alarm started ringing loudly in the camp.

"Every citizen must stay where they are," a voice said, even stronger than the alarm. The message had to be pre-recorded because it keeps repeating itself, again and again.

"Shit, we need to get you out of here. Now."


	8. Chapter 8

Once Madi had changed her clothes, she looked just like any other kids from the camp. Alex's clothes were the perfect size for her. Although she seemed a bit unsure about them, always playing with the aim of her shirt, now wasn't the time to be capricious. Everyone knew it.

"Alright, listen up! We can't do our previous plan now. Alex, you'll bring Madi with you to your room. You don't stop for anyone. And if you don't have a choice, her name is... Kelly, she's your friend, and you're surprise that they don't recognize her. You'll bring the kid with you, too. It will be Madi's brother."  
"But, dad..."

Maxim took his daughter by the shoulder and looked at her right in the eyes. He felt terribly bad to ask her that, but he didn't have another choice.

"Alex, please, trust me. I wouldn't ask you that if it wasn't necessary."

Alex hesitated, but she knew too that the situation was urgent. The alarm was still going strong, the message still repeating itself nonstop.

"Alright. Follow me, _Kelly_."  
"Wait –" Bellamy started.  
"My son isn't getting away from me," Murphy snapped.  
"Your son will be safer with Alex than with us right now."

Murphy and Emori looked at each other, hesitant. But Eban started moving in Emori's arms.

"Down, mama, down!" he shouted.

Eban then walked toward Madi and took her hand in his, a smile on his lips.

"I go with Madi."  
"But..." Emori started, and then stopped herself, "Alright."

Everyone looked at like she had just lost her mind. Especially Murphy, who thought that something had to have happened during landing. She must have hit her head or something. She couldn't be serious!

"We need to trust him," she says and then added something in Murphy's ear, which caused him to stop talking.  
"Okay, then," he finally agreed, though reluctantly, to everyone else's surprise.

They both walked to their son, who was still holding Madi's hand. They kissed him on the cheek and nodded to Maxim, who was watching the exchange, a frown on his face.

Madi looked at everyone, but mostly at Raven and Bellamy before taking a deep breath and following Alex, who had already exit the room. Her hands were shaking slightly, but she knew that whatever happened, she would not go down without a fight.

After all, she was raised by Wanheda. She knew a few things about survival.

"What do we do now?" Harper asked, once the kids had leave the room.  
"You saw how the place is made?" Maxim asked Bellamy, who nodded, "Good, then us, we'll go in Gellert's office."  
"How the hell is this going to help us?" Bellamy asked.  
"We need to stop this alarm. Bellamy, Echo, Monty and I, we will guard the place. Keep you, Raven, safe. You'll go in and stop the alarm. Harper, Emori and Murphy, you need to make a distraction."  
"A distraction?"  
"Yes. There's another alarm that can be activated by the guards near the entry. It's for the animals or upcoming enemies. You know, just in case. The button is outside, near the first building on the left. You pushed it, and then you run toward the prison. You get in, and we will get you there once we're done. The guards won't know where to go."  
"This could go wrong in so many ways," Monty objected.  
"I know, but this is the best that we can do now."  
"What about Madi and Eban?"  
"We will get them once we're done, too. Alright, enough, let's go."

Once at the time, they moved outside, their heart beating fast. They didn't have any arms, this plan was pretty damn shitty, and they didn't know what was going to happen next. They all thought that the guards were after them, that they had finally realized who the gang were, even though they were wrong. The guards were looking for Madi.

And they had find her.

Alex, Madi and Eban were walking fast, looking super suspicious. They were almost at Alex's home when a young guard walked around the corner, right in front of them.

The guard was handsome. His face was perfectly symmetrical and his golden hair was falling in front of his light blue eyes. He was tall and well build. It was the first time in her life that Madi saw a young guy since her earlier childhood and she could almost feel the butterfly dancing in her stomach already.

"Jakob," Alex gasped, surprise, "What are you doing here?"  
"Didn't you hear the alarm, Alex?" Jakob asked his cousin.  
"I did. I was at the toilet with Kelly and Thomas, so we decided to just go to my room, since it was near. Anyway, it just another test, right?"

Jakob glanced at Madi and then at Eban.

"Kelly and Thomas, huh? Do you really think I'm stupid, Alexandra?" Jakob sigh while Alex and Madi exchanged a look, wondering if they should start running now, "Valerie would never have done something like that, her. It's a shame that you're the one who –"  
"Shut up!" Alex screamed, a tear on her cheek.

Jakob just laughed and grabbed Eban – who started crying - by the shoulder and pointed his gun toward Madi.

"You two, you follow me, or that pretty little head of yours won't be so pretty anymore. Alex, you go to your room."  
"Jakob, please..."  
"Now!" he shouted and dragged Madi and Eban away from Alex who stood motionless for a moment, watching them walking away.

At the same time, the gang had just separated. Murphy, Emori and Harper were walking toward the entry, trying to stay away from the guards, and Maxim, Raven, Bellamy, Monty and Echo were walking toward Gellert's office. They saw a few guards, but not one of them seemed to care about them, which they didn't understand. Monty, Bellamy and Raven were talking about that while Maxim and Echo were walking side by side in front of the trio.

"Why did you helped me?" Echo asked in a hushed-voice.  
"It's a long story," Maxim says in the same tone, glancing at the trio who were walking a few feet behind them, completely ignorant of their conversation, "When we were young, my wife got pregnant. Our daughter was named Valerie. She was funny and smart and beautiful, but she had also a really... strong personality.  
When she was six, my wife, Tanya, got pregnant again. When the contractions started, the doctors came to us and said; "We've got bad news."  
"What's going on?" Tanya asked.  
"There's some complications. The birth will kill you, Tanya. We've got two choices, we save the baby and you die, or... Or we kill the baby, and then you'll be able to live."  
We were completely stunned. It's terrible to say but for me at the time, the choice was easy. Tanya was the love of my life. I was about to tell them to save her, when Tanya took my hand and looked at me in the eyes, saying; "Don't you _dare_ save me."  
Ultimately, I never had a choice. Tanya decided to save the baby and she only took a little glance at her before dying. I couldn't even bear myself to look at Alexandra for the first five days. But when I took her in my arms...  
Valerie, on the other hand, never loved her sister. She blamed me and Alex for her mommy's death. She even decided to go live with my sister. She was really close of Jakob, since they were almost the same age.  
When she was eleven, she got sick. Deathly sick. It was a common condition where we lived. All the time, one parent was compatible and could save the kid. I wasn't.  
She was twelve when she died. We were all in her room, watching over her. She almost couldn't breath anymore, she had lost so much weight and her skin was a weird shade of blue and gray. I was sitting right next to her and she was looking at Alex. They didn't really know each other, since Valerie didn't live with us anymore.  
"Can you all leave me with my dad?" Valerie asked.  
Jakob had taken Alex's hand and had lead her outside, followed by Maria and Gellert. They were all crying, we all knew the end was near.  
Valerie didn't speak for a while, she only looked at me.  
"You look old, dad."  
"I know."  
"Do you love her?"  
"Who?"  
"Alex," she had said her name like it was some kind of curse, like it was disgusting.  
"Of course, I do. I love you both, so much."  
Valerie stopped talking for a while and started coughing blood. When I tried to help her, she pushed me away.  
"You let mom die for her," she finally said, "Was it worth it?"  
"Valerie, that's not -"  
"Was it worth it, dad? You let mom die for her. You let me die for her."  
"Valerie, we could never have known -"  
"If mom was alive, I could live my life. But no, now I'll never get married. I'll never have kids. I'll never get my first kiss. I'll never be a teen. I'll always be the kid you kill, in the end."  
"Valerie, please..."  
"You should have killed Alexandra when you had the chance. But no. You killed mom, and now, you killed me."  
A few minutes after that, she was dead. It's the last thing she ever told me. She hugged Jakob, Gellert and Maria, told them how much she loved them, and then she died. Simply like that.  
I'm helping you, Echo, because something about you remind me of her. It might be that light in your eyes. It's stupid, really, but I got this feeling that, if I help you, I might get Valerie's forgiveness. I don't know why you don't want them to know about Clarke, but I'll respect your wishes for as long as I can."

Echo didn't know what to say for a few seconds. She didn't expected him to tell her so much about himself.

"Thank you," Echo finally said, "I'm really sorry about your family."

Maxim nodded and opened the door to the office, where the gang had sitted earlier. The place was empty, which was good for them. Maxim opened an hidden trap in the floor and got a gun for everyone.

"Echo and I, we will go patrol outside. Make sure no one comes. Bellamy and Monty, you stay here, just in case. Raven, there's a door right there. You need to find the button. You can handle it? I guess it should be in one of his drawers or hidden somewhere on his desk."  
"Why aren't you the one going in?" Bellamy asked.  
"Because if someone come, I can explain why I'm here. Can you?"

When no one answered, Maxim clapped his hands.

"Go!"

Raven opened the door and immediately rushed to the desk. She looked everywhere, pushing back sheets of paper, opening the drawers, but not finding anything. She was getting on her knees to look under the desk, when a noise made her jumped. She looked around, seeing the person lying on the bed for the first time. As she was coming close, she recognized the short blonde hair. She started shaking, a smile on her lips when she realized that her chest was raising and falling, steady and constant. She sat beside her on the bed, trying to wake her friend.

"Clarke?" she says the name of the girl she never though she would see again, "Clarke, wake up, please."

She saw the blood coming from a bad scratch on her forehead, flowing down on her face. Raven stand up and run to the door. She opened it and looked at Bellamy and Monty with wide eyes.

"What's going on?" Monty asked.  
"Did you find it? Raven, you okay?" Bellamy says at the same time.  
"Clarke..." she simply said, guessing that they would understand right away.

She got back inside the room, Monty and Bellamy rushing inside, following Raven who had stopped near the bed. Monty froze, looking at the unconscious girl. He could not believe his eyes. Bellamy, on the other hand, walked toward Clarke. Every step seemed weird, like his legs were numb. He feels himself falling on the ground right beside the bed, his knees hurting the cold hard ground. Even though it hurt at first, Bellamy couldn't care less.

With a shaking hand, he pushed the hair away from her face. Clarke doesn't even react, but she's _alive_. Bellamy stays there, his heart beating violently, tears threatening to flow from his eyes. Suddenly, it is as if he saw the world in color for the first time. All the colors were dull before, and now they are alive and colorful. The world suddenly seems to be turning in the right direction once again. Everything becomes clearer in his mind. It was the first time in ages that he realized how much he was no longer himself without this girl. Without his co-leader, his best-friend. The girl he had been in love with. The girl he had mourn, over and over again. The girl he never thought he would see again. The girl he left behind. The girl whose ghost keep him awake at night, crying because; " _What have I done?_ ". The girl whom made him realize what he was capable of and who he truly was. The girl he had been living for, for the past years. To honor her. To make her proud. With her by his side, his heart now seemed full for the first time in six years.

"Clarke," he says her name hoarsely, and suddenly, talking to her is the most natural thing in the world. Like he never stopped. He takes her hand in his and squeeze it, hoping to get a response.

Bellamy is completely obsessed with the fact that Clarke's fingers have just moved in his hand, and Monty and Raven are so shocked to see that their friend is alive that they don't hear the guns shooting outside. They don't realize that the alarm had stopped. They don't hear the screams. But they jump when ten guards come in the room. They don't even have time to reach for their guns that they're under the guards control, their faces on the ground. They are shouting and fighting, but the guards are stronger.

Gellert come into the room, looking mad. A pain in the neck surprising them all, until they realized that the guards just injected them something. Probably some kind of sleeping drugs, because they can already feel the effects. The last thing Bellamy sees before losing consciousness are Clarke's eyes that just started to open as a guard injects a sting in her neck.

"No," Bellamy says right as he loose consciousness.  
"We've got them all, sir," a guard said, once everyone is asleep.  
"Good," Gellert says, looking around at them, "Now, let's proceed."


	9. Chapter 9

Gellert was sitting at his desk, playing with a pencil which was lying around, lost in his thoughts. He absently watched the guards dragged the unconscious bodies of Raven, Bellamy, Clarke, Echo and Monty. Then, escorted by two guards, Maxim entered. It was a hard blow for Gellert. His own brother-in-law. Well, ex-brother-in-law. He watched the man he thought he knew so well. His nose was bleeding due to a punched in the face he had received. Maxim seemed angry, but resigned to his fate.

"I must say, I'm pretty surprise," Gellert started saying, "I always thought you were by my side."

"I am, Gel, you know that," Maxim replied.

"Really? I thought you wanted to help those people escape. It's funny, I guess you knew who they were then? And you didn't tell me... How am I supposed to take this, huh?"

"I can't let you kill people for no reason. They hadn't done anything wrong."

"Don't you want our people to be safe, Maxim? Don't you want your daughter to grow up without worrying about her safety? Don't you want to see at least one of your child grow old?"

"Of course, I do. But these people are not a menace."

"Well, sadly, you –"

The door opened and Maria entered. She glanced briefly at the sleeping bodies on the ground and the guards who watched over them, but her eyes lingered longer on her brother and on her ex-husband.

"I thought you said you had them all?" she asked.

"We do," he says and pointed toward them, "Plus the kids Jakob got."

"No, there's missing three of them."

The guards began talking all at once, until a gesture of Gellert's hand made them all stopped talking.

"What are you waiting for? Find them. You five," he said to five guards, "Take the prisoners ... No, wait. Let me Clarke."

"Why?" Maria asked, watching the guards dragged Bellamy, Raven, Monty and Echo outside.

Maxim, now freed from his guards, sat down on a chair in front of Gellert's desk, his sister taking the other and sitting beside him.

"I need her for the bunker. I made a deal with her. Jakob found the girl, right?"

"Yes, but, with the... huh, 'accident'..."

"Nonsense."

"What accident?" Maxim asked, afraid, "Did something happened to Madi and Eban?"

When no one answered, Maxim started standing up, but he is stopped by a pressure from Maria's hand on his arm.

"You're already in enough trouble."

"They are just kids."

"This is none of your business, Maxim," Gellert says, sighing.

Maxim didn't object. He was lucky enough that they were talking to him and not bringing him in a cell.

"Then what are you going to do, now?"

Maria and Gellert exchanged a glanced, and then; "We wait for Clarke to wake up," Gellert looked at the sleeping girl on his bed, "I want more information about them. Then, we kill them. It won't be painful, they won't feel a thing. Might not be as easy for the bunker, but we will figure it out."

"Even the kid?"

"The little boy... Is not a threat," Maria says, avoiding Maxim's eyes.

"Maria –"

A movement on the bed cut him short. The three of them turned toward Clarke, who was awakening. She frowned and seemed a little confused, lifting her hand to touch the blood who had dried on her forehead. She leaned on her arms to get up a little, looking around her.

"Ah, Miss Griffin, you are finally back among us."

Gellert stood up and walked toward Clarke. He took her arms and forces her to stand up in front of him.

"Well, my dear, it's time."

"Time for what? I told you I won't help you in any way unless -"

"Unless you have Madi with you. Maria, go see how Jakob's doing. Things look like they've change quite a bit while you were dreaming, Clarke. We follow my rules, now."

/

Bellamy woke up in the cell he had found Madi in. His head was turning and he would have really enjoyed a glass of water, but otherwise he felt good. He stood up on trembling legs and stepped forward to try to see his friends.

"Raven?" he called, "Monty?"

"I'm here," Monty's voice answered, further down the corridor.

"You're alright?"

"Yes, just a bit woozy. You?"

"I'm fine. We need to get out of here. Where's Raven and Echo?" he asked, and then paused. He couldn't believe what he was going to say, "Where's Clarke?"

"I don't know," Monty says, feeling the same kind of choc as Bellamy, "They probably took them in the other prison. I don't think they got Harper, Murphy and Emori. Murphy would probably be with us, here."

Bellamy started thinking about what this could mean.

"Good. Then, they will –"

He was cut short by a few guards coming for them. They forced them out of their cells, despite their protests.

"You're coming with us," one guard with long red-hair says.

"Where?" Bellamy asked, trying not to show them that he was afraid.

"To your death," Monty hear another guard muttered under her breath with a small laugh.

Monty felt his heart pounding in his chest. But like Bellamy, he stands up and walks with his head held high, even when they are violently pushed down the stairs by the guards who merely laugh.

Once outside, they see Raven and Echo who are escorted by other guards, a little further away from them. No trace of Clarke, to Bellamy's despair.

Bellamy and Monty were unaware at the time that Echo and Raven had been placed in the same cell. They were unaware that Raven shouted so loudly and fast at Echo, - with words that would make even the most vulgar guards blush – that Echo didn't even had a chance to say a word. They were unaware that Raven had slapped Echo with all her might, resulting in a bright red mark. They were unaware that it would have been worst if the guards hadn't come to separated them.

Indeed, Raven had quite well understood the situation. Well, Monty and Bellamy too, to be honest. But Raven had rather decided to act without waiting for explanations, whereas Bellamy, confused about this treason, absolutely wanted to have an explanations. He hoped that it was a misunderstanding. He needed to believe it. He had trusted Echo. For now, he needed to believe that this wasn't what he thought it was. Would Echo really hide an information so important to him?

"Yes, she would," says a voice in his mind.

Raven, on the other hand, was just in a pure rage. Echo had become, over the years, her friend. But Clarke was just as much. Hell, it was Clarke they were talking about. Clarke, who had saved them. It clearly wasn't the same type of friendship. At that moment, Echo's reasons mattered little to her. And even if she was not sure that she grasped it all for now, all she knew was that Echo had hidden from them the fact that Clarke was still alive. And she could not tolerate it.

They are all bring back in Gellert office, which they unknowingly left only forty-five minutes ago.

Maxim was there, still sitting at Gellert's desk, his head in his hands. The gang didn't know how to feel about him being there, without guards. He didn't look like a prisoner. They wondered if he had denounced them.

Maria was also there, standing next to Gellert, looking at...

At Clarke.

She's standing right in front of Gellert, two guards holding her arms behind her back. Clarke's gaze moves towards her friends, who have just entered the room. It's like a punch in the stomach. After so many years, so many desperate calls. She had dreamed of that day. Seeing them again. Hugging them. She had imagined laughter, smiles, perhaps even a few tears ...

But not that. Never that.

The eyes of Bellamy and Clarke meet for a second that seemed to be hours. For a split moment, it's like the room around them disappear. Like it's only them. Clarke's lips parted as she took a deep breath and Bellamy clenched his jaw, stopping himself from shouting her name. Their eyes say all the words they can not say at the moment. Everything happened in a second, but this is all it took.

She looks briefly at Raven and Monty, who seemed ready to burst into tears while Echo was looking at the ground.

"But where are the others," she wondered.

Clarke turns to Gellert, pretending that she did not know them. As though the presence of her friends was indifferent to her. She hoped Gellert could not read on her face how difficult it was for her pretend like this.

Gellert turns her to face her friends, who stand before her, held by other guards.

"Remember, my rules," he says in her ear, "So, now, Clarke, tell me," he continued out loud, "Do you know those people?"

Clarke looks at his friends, trying to avoid their eyes so she wouldn't betray herself. Her palms are moist, her hands tied behind her back, and her heart beats at full speed.

"No."

Gellert grin, looking at Maria who snorted. Maxim hasn't even moved yet.

"Really? Then, I guess you won't mind."

He waved to the guard with red hair, who is now leaning against the wall. He approaches and aim at Bellamy, who doesn't even flinch.

"Think about Madi, Clarke," Maria says, laughing.

The guard has his finger on the trigger. Clarke is about to scream "wait!", - after all, she couldn't guess that Gellert was faking everything and that he wouldn't have killed Bellamy right now - when a weird noise is heard from Gellert desk. Everyone turn around to look at the talkie-walkie. Even Maxim had raised his head, a puzzled look on his face.

"What the..."

The noise doesn't stop. After a few seconds, they sound become more and more clear. They can finally figure out that this is a voice, someone who won't stop talking.

"... repeat, can you hear me? Bellamy? Clarke? Can you hear me? I repeat, can you hear me?" the voice asked.

Holy hell.

"O," Bellamy muttered, so low that nobody can hear, recognizing the voice he hasn't heard in six years.

Gellert does not waste any time before reacting.

"You!" he screamed at Red Hair, who lower his gun, "Bring me the stuff. Now!"

He turned to look at Clarke as the guard rush outside the room. The other guards who were in the room with them all looked excited. Some happily excited, others in what seemed like fear. Gellert reaches out to Maria, who places a pistol in the palm of his hand.

"Gellert –" Maxim started.

"Don't start," Maria snapped at her brother.

The guards tighten their position around Clarke's arms, who can no longer move. She challenges Gellert's gaze as Bellamy, Raven and Monty struggle against the tight grip of their guards. They all have a bad feeling. Even Echo, who had closed her eyes.

"My dear, I guess we won't need you anymore."

And with that, he shoots Clarke. Right there, in front of everyone, in the most total chaos.

The guards let the lifeless body of Clarke Griffin fall on the ground unceremoniously, in a pool of her own black blood.


	10. Chapter 10

The guards did not even try to support Clarke as she fell to the ground. She had no muscle tone, therefor falling heavily on the floor. For a short time, she looked like a giant rag doll. Her empty eyes stared at the ceiling without showing anything. Without showing any sign of life.

They say that at the moment of death there is no pain. As if suddenly, the brain decided not to analyze what was going to kill us. They say that at the moment of death, an intense peace settles in us. We see a light. Our life is seen again before our eyes.

Clarke didn't experience any of this.

She had very clearly felt the ball pass through her belly and go out. At the time, it was true that she had not felt anything. As if her brain had not had time to understand what had happened. But then, the pain manifests itself. The doctor in her tried to analyze her own wounds, but it was impossible. She was unable to move. The pain was so intense, so sharp and blatant, that she wanted to scream. Cry. But she could not move... and maybe it was better that way.

She wondered when this peace would eventually come to light. Because honestly, she felt a lot of things right now, but peace was not on the list. No specific memories come to mind either.

How could they all have been so wrong about death?

Dying sucks.

 _Wanheda_. Commander of _death_.

What a joke.

She was at this instant even more in admiration than before for Raven. That girl was a real badass.

While Clarke was worried about her imminent death and terribly anxious at the thought of what was going to happen to Madi and her friends, she did not realize the chaos that broke out around her.

In fact, she had not noticed anything since the bullet had crossed her. She heard nothing more than her heart beating hard in her ears, feeling nothing but the blood that flowed around her.

It was normal, therefore, that she could not hear Bellamy's howl. The strident "NO!" Raven shouted. She did not notice when Gellert left the room, a few minutes earlier, with Maria, telling his guards to eliminate the rest of them. She did not realize that several shots fired in the room. This time, however, no bullet hit her. Thanks God.

This metallic taste in her mouth was particularly disgusting, she thought, as she felt her spirit drifting away, whereas even then her eyes still refused to move from that small point to the ceiling. She could not say how long it had been since Gellert shot her. Seconds, minutes, perhaps hours? The world, in her eyes, seemed to have lost all notions of time.

Hands suddenly clutched her shoulders, and this motion awakened the pain already painful enough in her belly. She thought she would scream, but she was not even sure she even made the slightest noise.

Are they already moving what they believed to be her corpse? In a normal situation, she would have judged that it was better that way. They would have taken her away and then she could have run away. But she knew she could not move. She would die, soon. She had already lost too much blood. Her vision became more and more blurred and she no longer felt her arms nor or legs.

Even the pain finally seemed to calm down. So, was that it? Was her time finally coming?

"About damn time," she thought.

Thus, while she believed that death would soon take her away, far from this twisted world to find the loved ones she had lost, something got into her field of vision.

Was it a guard? No, far from that.

She was persuaded to hallucinate as Murphy's face appeared in front of her. She saw his lips moving, but did not hear what he was saying.

Then, Bellamy's face also appeared. His eyes were crazy. He seemed agitate and kept talking non-stop, but she did not hear what he said either. She felt hands resting everywhere on her body, but couldn't feel them. It was good. That changed.

She was hallucinating strongly. Murphy had not been in the room with them. So, what was he doing here? She had heard much about death, but she had never heard of those strange hallucinations.

As her world grew dark, she thought that she probably deserved this end.

/

"Does anyone hear me?" Octavia repeated, for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

The door opened, revealing Abby. She glanced at the radio, then at Kane who was seated in front of Octavia, his head in his hands. Marcus raised his head as he heard her coming in. He immediately saw the anxiety that was imprinted on her face and therefore tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it seemed way too fake.

"Any news?" Abby asked, even though she knew the answer.

"No," Kane answered, looking at Octavia who was still talking in the radio, "But they will, eventually. The signal might just not reach them yet."

When Abby did not answer, Kane stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders and then hugged her tenderly.

"She's alive, Abby."

And then, after looking at Octavia:

"They're all alive."

Octavia uttered a curse and leaned back into the chair. No sound came from the radio.

"This thing isn't working," she snapped.  
"Of course, it is," Kane replied, releasing Abby, "Tyson and Val are very -"  
"Never mind," she said, "How's Indra?" she asked Abby instead.  
"She's fine now, but she's got to get out of here soon. We all have to."  
"And we need them to get us out of here," Kane continued, frowning.  
"And we can not get in touch with them. Great. They're probably all dead," said Octavia.  
"They're alive," Abby replied with a disapproving look in direction to the girl.  
"How long do we have left, Abby?" Kane asked, wishing to put an end to the tension between the two women.

Abby sighed.

"The children are already mostly sick. Three died in the last weeks and others will soon follow. The progression is rapid for them. It's slower for us, adults, but it has already begun. Already fifteen. According to our calculations ... We have about a month before everyone is sick and combine with the lack of oxygen… two, maybe three months, before we're all dead."

They remained silent, weighing the weight of these words. Only a few people had fallen ill and had survived. They hoped that would be the case with Indra. They had tried to prevent the contamination by doing a quarantine, but it was unsuccessful. They still could not understand how the virus spread.

"You still do not -" Kane began.  
"No, no cure for now... We don't have much time left, they have to come and get us out of here."  
"They're going to contact us," Octavia muttered, avoiding the look of the other two, "They will."

Kane and Abby, preoccupied with their own thoughts, did not notice Octavia's hands, which trembled slightly.

Abby sank into one of the chairs, Kane's hand resting on his shoulder. The last six years had been tough for each of them. Coexisting so many people under the same roof was already difficult, but when the disease had struck, it had become complete chaos. The first patients had been affected a little before the beginning of the sixth year, when they were already sufficiently panicked at the idea that they could not leave the bunker. With all the rubble above their heads, the door would not open.

The first patient had been a boy of seven. His mother took him to medical because he was spitting blood and his eyes seemed to swell. Gradually, the veins under his skin had suddenly been much more apparent all over him and the white of his eyes had become red. When he began to complain of thorax pain, it only took a few hours before he died, at the end of his long suffering.

At his death, he was in a very pitiful condition. His little body no longer resembled the one he had been. His mother, who was completely lost in her grief, had subsequently given herself to death. When they examined her body, they noticed a few dried-blood traces at the corners of her lips.

Afterwards, they no longer had cases for a time. It was good. Surprisingly, they had not lost a lot of people in the first five years. Ten people. A woman in childbirth (of a stillborn child), two of a flu that had misfired, one had been killed, and the other six had been executed by Octavia for minor or major crimes committed. Octavia was now pretty damn severe.

But lately, she seemed always on nervous and her mind was elsewhere. Especially since Indra had fallen ill and Niylah died. Since the epidemic, they had lost more people in just a few months than in the past six years. So, it was normal for her to act a bit differently than before. Being a leader in those conditions wasn't easy for anyone.

While the three were silent, someone started talking on the radio. At first they did not recognize the voice.

"Octavia? Octavia, can you hear me?"

Finally recognizing the voice, Kane threw himself on the radio before Octavia or Abby, both in shock, had time to react.

"Harper? Is that you?"  
"Kane?"

Octavia and Abby exchanged a look, their eyes wide with surprise.

"Kane, we need help. Is Abby there?"

Abby approached and took the radio from Kane's hands.

"I'm here," she said, trying to regain control, "Is Clarke okay?"  
"She's hurt," replied Harper and Abby felt her blood freeze in her veins, "We need your help."


	11. Chapter 11

Madi was lying on a table, her arms and legs tied. Jakob had drugged her and so she had been sleeping for a while. She did not know how much time had passed, but she woke up slowly, still befuddled. She tried to struggle a little, but it was useless, she already knew that. She sighed and twisted her neck to try to see Eban, who was crying, trapped in a small animal cage in the right corner of the room. He was standing after the bars, crying, his nose running and his face red. Madi's heart ached at the sight.

"Eban," she called.

The boy stopped crying and looked up straight at her.

"Madi? You is okay?"

She smiled slightly, trying to look brave. Just like Clarke always did with her.

"Of course. I was just asleep. Don't worry, they won't hurt you. Your momma will be here soon."  
"And daddy."  
"And daddy, of course."

Eban sat down on the floor and contemplated the decor. Or rather, the lack of decor. The place was dull and wooden, like almost every other part of the camp. On the other hand, the room did not look out on the outside, otherwise they would have heard something. But only silence surrounded them. A single candle lighted up the room, far away from the two of them, on the opposite side of the room.

After a long moment, the door opened, startling Madi and making Eban scream. Jakob came in, followed by a man and a woman who looked just like him. She recognized the woman who had captured them in the forest. Madi understood that it had to be his parents.

Gellert and Maria followed Jakob talking in a whisper, approaching Madi without even looking at her, nor Eban. Jakob was the first to look down at her. He gave her a smile that made her shiver. How could she find him attractive, she wondered? He was physically perfect, so to speak, but he was also a monster. With one hand, he pushed a strand of hair that crossed her face. Madi tried not to react as he leaned toward her and whispered in her ear: "I would help them if I were you. You do not want to end up like your mother, right?"

Madi felt her heart accelerate in her chest, but made a great effort to not let it show. Jakob looked at her, smiling, with a mischievous look. Madi almost thought that he knew exactly the effect of fear he had on her, and that it pleased him. Two guards then entered the room. They stood by the door and closed it without even looking at the children.

"Are you sure, Gellert?"  
"I'll always do what I have to do, Maria."  
"I know," Maria replied. "I mean, are you sure of your technique?"  
"My technique?" repeated Gellert.  
"Yes, Jakob's idea was -"  
"No. No way."

Maria sighed and exchanged a look with her son, who shrugged, but did not insist. She was disappointed with her ex husband's weakness, but not surprised.

"Very well then."  
"Jakob, please," Gellert said, holding out his hand.

Jakob searched in his pockets and then placed a small knife in his father's outstretched hand. Madi's hands began to tremble as Gellert approached her, threatening her with the knife.

"You see that, pretty girl?" Gellert turned the knife between his fingers. "This is Jakob's favorite toy. And he is very talented with it. So, I am going to give you a choice. You are listening carefully?"  
"Yes, sir," she managed to mumble.  
"That's a good girl. Well, I offer you this. You follow us, without any fuss. And you answer every single one of our questions. In exchange, we offer you and the boy a permanent and safe place in our camp. What do you think? Sounds fair, right?"

Even though he was very good at this little game, Madi knew that Gellert was lying. He did it brilliantly, of course, but still. He would never let them live.

"And if I refuse?"  
"In this case, we will have to get those answers by force," he said, twirling the knife. "And you are not going to appreciate that."  
"Well ..." she said. "It's pretty sad, isn't?"  
"What is, dear?"  
"It's sad to be so desperate that you have to torture a kid to get what you want. On the other hand, if I die today, at least I know I would never become like you. A heartless monster. That part is something to be grateful about."

Gellert chuckles. The girl's insult didn't seem to be bothering him.

"And it's a shame to waste such a pretty face."

/

When Harper, Murphy and Emori had come to the rescue, things had gone crazy. They had heard Murphy's voice, ordering them to lie on the ground. Echo, Monty, Raven and Bellamy had immediately obeyed, hearing the shots. In only a few seconds, thanks to the surprise effect, the guards were all dead. Bellamy then rushed to Clarke and it didn't take long before the others joined him. They had tried to have a reaction from her, but without success. Her eyes were dull, dead. Raven had to put her hand on Bellamy's shoulder to try to calm him down. He had quickly recovered, and they had together fled the camp, not even casting a glance at Maxim's corpse, except for Echo, who actually felt bad.

No one really paid attention to Echo. They were all too focused on saving themselves to be concerned about her. They even had to drag Murphy and Emori out of the camp by force. They wanted to find their son right away. Bellamy finally convinced them to leave with them. They had to get Clarke out of there first. Remembering what she did for Emori six years earlier, giving Emori her suit, Murphy agreed. But only after Bellamy promised that he would go after Eban himself.

After a while, they had found a small cave near their landing place. It was not perfect, but it was temporary. Even if Bellamy was reluctant to leave Clarke, himself, Murphy and Echo went in search of the children. Emori had tried to come, but Monty made her stay with them. During their time in space, Emori had become their nurse. She wasn't as good as Clarke, but she knew a few tips about survival. They need her there, with Clarke. Instead, Echo took her place.

Bellamy didn't want her to come, but ultimately agreed. She was a good fighter and she loved Eban just as much as the others. Besides, he didn't want her anywhere near Clarke.  
So that was where they were now, Bellamy, Echo and Murphy, near the building where the children were. All three of them fully armed, waiting for the right moment to attack.

"Okay, I'm going."  
"Murphy, waits," Bellamy whispered. "They know by now what happened. We can't just get in there and shoot them all."  
"Why not? Sounds like a plan to me."  
"Shut up," Echo suddenly whispered.

Bellamy and Murphy looked up to see Gellert and Maria coming out of the building, followed by a guard. Murphy pointed his gun at them, but at the same time a piercing scream was heard. They waited for the three monsters to leave before rushing to the building, where they could hear several other heart-rending cries.

With a blow of shoulder, Bellamy smashed the locked door. Echo entered and immediately killed the remaining guard, who had been too surprised to react, as Murphy searched the room with his eyes. He felt the rage growing inside him as he saw his son trapped like an animal. Jakob, the knife pressed against Madi's neck, observed them, surprised.

"If this isn't unfortunate."  
"Get the hell away from her," Bellamy snapped.

Jakob pressed the blade a little harder on Madi's neck, shedding blood.

"Don't come near me, or I'll kill her. I won't hesitate."  
"As crazy as his father, isn't he?" Murphy muttered.  
"We're not crazy!" Jakob exclaimed with a gleam of madness in his eyes. "We want to save our people."  
"They don't need to be saved," Echo says.  
"Yes, they do! From savages like you and your friends."  
"Boy, listen to me," Bellamy started. "She's just a kid. Leave her alone, and we won't shoot you."

Jakob looked at the three guns aimed at him.

"You're lying."  
"No, I'm not," Bellamy promised.  
"You're lying…" he repeated about four times.

With a quick movement, before any of them could react, Jakob took the blade of the knife to his own throat. Even before the others understood what had happened, the blood began to flow. He fell to the ground with uncontrollable spasms.

"Well, that was unpredictable," Murphy said.

Echo got closer to the young man's body, her feet in the pool of blood, as Bellamy rushed towards Madi. Bellamy had noticed the numerous cuts that adorned the girl's body. Some were superficial, but others would leave a few scars. He untied her wrists and feet quickly, but was surprised when the girl jumped to his neck, weeping.

"Thank you, Bellamy," she cried, her face hidden in his neck.  
"Don't worry, you're safe. Is he dead?" he then asked Echo.  
"Yes," she answered before throwing the keys at Murphy, who was trying to break the cage with his bare hand to get Eban, who was crying really loudly, out.  
"It's okay, buddy," he then said, squeezing the toddler in his arms, "all is well."  
"Let's get out of here, now."

/

"She's hurt," Harper said in the talkie-walkie. "We need your help."

Raven had never imagined being so relieved to hear Abby's voice. Her hands were covered with Clarke's blood as she pressured the wound. Emori, Monty and she were completely lost. They did not know what to do and Clarke was losing her blood at a frightful speed.

"Harper, hurry up!" Emori shouts, looking at the blood on the ground.  
"Abby, Clarke got shot in the stomach."  
"What do you mean, she got shot?" they could hear the panic in her voice, but she quickly recovers herself, going from the mom to the doctor in a matter of seconds. "How much blood is she losing?"  
"A damn lot."  
"Do you know if any vital organs have been touched?"

Harper looked at the others for answers and surprisingly, it's Monty who said: "No. I think it hurt an important vessel, but no organs."

Harper repeated the information to Abby.

"Is the bullet still inside of her?"  
"Help me," Emori says to Monty. "Raven, keep pressuring the wound."

Together, Monty and Emori moved Clarke a bit to see her back. She didn't even react, even though it must have hurt like hell. They could see a wound on her back, where the bullet had exited her body. And then, they understood where all of the blood was coming from. It was coming from both the back of her body and the front.

"The bullet's out," Emori says to Harper, who repeated it.  
"Alright, you'll need to clear the wounds, and then closed it."  
"With what?" Raven snapped. "We only have water."  
"Wait," Monty says. "I know where to find alcohol."

He then stood up and ran away. The three girls looked at him, calling his name. He came back a few minutes later with a bottle of moonshine and a smile.

"I knew it was a good idea to bring it back down here."

At the same, a noise made them all jump. They look up at Bellamy, Echo, Eban, Madi and Murphy as they entered. Madi froze for a moment, then burst into tears as she rushed over to Clarke.

"Please, don't be dead. I need you!" she cried in her mother tongue.  
"She'll be okay," Emori replied in Trigedasleng. "She has to be."  
"She's losing too much blood," shouted Raven to no one in particular.

Bellamy approached Harper and took the walkie-talkie from his hands. He then got closer to Raven and observed Clarke's completely colorless face. He felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He would not lose her again.

"Abby, it's me. Clarke loses way too much blood. Even if we close the wound, it won't be enough. She won't survive it."

Only silence answered him for a few seconds.

"Abby? Are you there?"

"I'm here. Alright. Start by closing the wounds. Then, one of you is going to give her your blood."


	12. Chapter 12

"A transfusion?" Harper exclaimed, confused. "But Clarke is a nightblood, we are not -" she stopped and looked at Madi. "Oh."

The eyes of the others followed and they all looked at Madi, who didn't seem to be understanding the situation. She was holding Clarke's weak hand and had stopped crying, but her cheeks were still red and swollen.

Abby's voice was then heard again.

"You have to prick your finger, enough that a drop of blood big enough can be collected, then mix the same amount of Clarke's blood with yours. If she's compatible with you, her blood will mix without problem. I know she's a nightblood, but nevertheless, if there is even the possibility that one of you is compatible, you must try. "  
"It won't be necessary." Emori said, looking at Madi.  
"Yes, it is." Bellamy said. "We're not going to bleed her."  
"The hell are you talking about?" Murphy asked, squeezing Eban in his arms.  
"She's only a child."  
"Bellamy, think, please. She's obviously compatible with Clarke." Harper thought out loud.  
"No, he's right." Monty interposed. "She's just a kid."  
"But what are you talking about? I can do it, no matter what it is!" exclaimed Madi.  
"See? She can do it." Murphy said.  
"Enough, Murphy." Raven snapped. "Bellamy, I hate to say it, but they are kind of right. She must be compatible with Clarke. And whatever you decide, we are just losing time. We are losing Clarke's time.  
"Are you there?" Abby asked, sounding nervous.  
"Yeah, we're there." Bellamy says. "We are going to do it." And then, to the others, "We are going to test each of us. If none of us work, then okay."

The others nodded, signifying their agreement. With a small knife that Harper had managed to steal to the Miners, she pricked her finger. She made the blood drop on top of the bottle of alcohol, which was the cleanest place, since it wasn't only grass and mud. Each of them then made the same gesture as she did, grimacing a bit as the knife cut their skin. Meanwhile, Raven made sure to mix the same quantity of Clarke's blood with theirs, while Harper and Murphy made a fire on which they could heat the knife, since they had no other way to close the wounds.

When Emori handed the knife to Echo, she grabbed it, but had a moment of hesitation that both Bellamy and Raven noticed.

"Echo -" Bellamy began with a warning tone, clearly indicating that they had no time to lose and that he would not accept any of her bullshit.

Raven got up from her place and grabbed the knife from Echo's hands, who looked at her in surprise. With a sharp gesture and to the surprise of the others, who still did not yet fully understand the situation, she grabbed Echo's hand and made the cut herself, a bit deeper than what was necessary. Echo cursed in her tongue and looked at her as if Raven was crazy.

"Don't complain." Raven simply said.  
"Alright, this is gonna hurt." Harper said, handing the hot knife to Emori, who looked at Bellamy.  
"Hold her down."

Bellamy positioned himself as to lay Clarke's head on his thighs and have a good grip on her chest if she ever tried to struggle. Murphy clutched one leg while Monty held the other. Raven took Clarke's hand, who was still completely unconscious, and exchanged a look with Bellamy. Both felt the same fears. With every passing second, Clarke seemed closer to death. They had just gotten her back, was she going to leave them once again? Did they already outsmart destiny too often and the latter was now catching up?

Harper seized Eban and Madi by the hand and took them outside, even though the girl tried to resist. She finally accepted, seeing the look on Bellamy's face, who was trying to look comforting for her.

"Go ahead, Madi. Everything will be fine." He said.  
"Yes, come on, we're going to clean up your cuts a bit." Harper said, pulling the children to a small stream that was nearby.

Meanwhile, Echo remained aloof. She didn't know how to act. She realized little by little that the choice she had made was reducing to nil the good things of the last six years. Moreover, her only ally was dead, killed by her friends. What was she supposed to do? So, she decided to stay away as Emori applied the knife on Clarke's wound on her belly.  
As the sound and the smell of burnt flesh fill the air around them, Clarke opened her eyes and tried to take a deep breath. It didn't take five seconds for her eyes to close once more and her head to fall to the side, facing Bellamy's stomach, who looking at her with an air that was both surprised and a little panicked.

"Raven!" He shouted. Raven immediately understood what he wanted and tried to find a pulse on Clarke's wrist.  
"It's okay." she confirmed when she felt Clarke's weak pulse.  
"Turn her around," Emori said to the boys, who hurried to act.  
"Echo, go see in the ship if there is any material we can use for the transfusion." Bellamy ordered without even looking at her. He didn't like the idea of involving her in the process, but she was the only one who wasn't doing anything. "Raven, is one of us compatible?" he asked at the same moment as Abby's voice said, "Hello? Is everything okay? Are you still there?"  
"None of us is compatible." Replied Raven to Abby and Bellamy.  
"Shit," Abby swore as Murphy said, "We really don't have a choice anymore."

Bellamy didn't like the idea, of course. Madi was only a child and taking her blood strongly displeased him. But looking at Clarke's face, he also knew he had no choice. He would not let her die. He simply couldn't.

"Monty, go get her," he said without taking his eyes off the pale face of the girl he had loved and mourned so much.

Monty nodded and rushed outside as Echo entered the room with the emergency equipment they had taken, which wasn't a lot. She handed them to Emori, who took them and examined them with Raven.

"Do we have what it takes?" asked Bellamy.  
"No, but we will work it out." Raven replied.

Emori nodded and started working on it with Raven. They were both arguing, but still seemed to be coming to decent results. Might not be high technology, but they could work it out with what they had in this damn place, still nervous that Gellert's soldiers could come to them, even though they were too busy trying to find the bunker. But they would soon find out that Jakob was dead – if they haven't already – and would come for them. Bellamy was sure of it.

"Are you there? Please, answer!" Abby shouted in the talkie-walkie and Bellamy realized that they had all forgot about her, even though she had been shouting in the talkie walkie since they told her that they weren't compatible.  
"We're here, Abby." Bellamy said. "We have someone."  
"Who?" She asked as Monty and Madi entered.

The girl had her head high and looked determined, strangely looking like Clarke. She met Bellamy's gazes and they both exchanged a nod. She suddenly looked much older than her young age as she lay down beside Clarke. Bellamy moved a bit and took Madi's hand in his.

"It's going to be alright."  
"I know," she said, "I trust you."

Bellamy's chest tightened, shook with the emotion those words she'd said had made him feel.

"Clarke's daughter." He said to Abby, who gasped, "She will explain it to you herself later." Madi smiled at him and he smirk back, still surprise by her courage.  
"Bellamy, are you –" Abby started, but the rest of her question was muffled by Raven.  
"Alright, let's do it!"

/

Sitting in the office, staring at the radio, Abby was still trying to figure out what had just happened. Kane was standing behind her and had put a hand on her back.

"She's gonna make it, Abby."  
"If the transfusion works." She replied, coldly. "She has a child. She and Bellamy have a child."  
"It's not Bellamy's child." Said Octavia, who still seemed shocked and relieved to have heard her brother's voice. She had wanted to talk to him, but had understood that, for now, Abby had priority, given the state Clarke was in.  
"What do you mean?" asked Kane, confused. "Who else can this child's father be?"  
"He would never have said 'Clarke's daughter' He would have said 'our daughter' or even 'my daughter'. I'm sure of it. It's not his kid." She said.  
"I've missed my grandchild's life," Abby laugh without humor, not answering or even acknowledging what Octavia had said, "I have a grandchild. I should have expected it, though."

Kane and Octavia didn't know what to answer, but were saved by Tram, a young girl, only sixteen years old. She was a grounder and was now one of Abby apprentices as a doctor. She knocked on the door and opened it without an invitation.

In fact, she never waited for one.

"Abby? Sorry to bother you, but we need you in medical."  
"What's going on?" Kane asked as Abby stood up, trying to put her best 'I'm okay, don't worry' mask on.

Tram looked at Octavia, like she wasn't sure if she should talk or not.

"Hmm, something is going on with one of the patient." She said. "And Xavier is showing the first symptoms of the disease."  
"Xavier Trolley?" Abby asked, referring to another one of her apprentices. The youngest, just turned eleven. He was a genius.  
"Yes," Tram nodded, "It's already pretty bad."

Abby rushed out of the room, followed by Tram, without seeing Octavia sighing and dismissing Kane, trying to hide the fact that her body was shaking pretty hard and that she was holding back her tears.

"When did he started showing the first signs?" Abby asked Tram, taking the medical file she was holding out for her and looking at the pages.  
"He's already in stage two, as if he started being sick about three or four days ago, but he started being sick this night only. No signs before, nothing." Tram paused. "Abby, I did the evaluation myself. At the rate he's going, I wouldn't be surprised if, by this night, he is already in stage three. It's going way too fast."  
"That's not normal. He shouldn't be this sick already."

And just as she said that, a girl who was walking near them with a friend started coughing hard, and then spilling blood on the floor. They could already see some veins being abnormally visible on her face and she was starting to convulse, falling on the floor, but she was still conscious and looked totally panicked, unable to control her body. Abby and Tram both halted for a second before rushing to her. This wasn't normal.

"No," Tram agreed, "It's definitely not normal. It's evolving." A pause, then: "We're all going to die."

Abby mostly agreed with her, but didn't say anything. The situation was evolving beyond control. In that moment, she fully realized that their only hope to survive were outside, trying to save her own daughter.

But something else was outside. Something that had shot Clarke. And for a split moment, she wondered if she really wanted to be saved.

/

Clarke was still unconscious and Madi, like all the others, had fallen asleep next to her. She was damn pale, but she wasn't in danger. At least, that's what Bellamy kept telling himself. He was sure that Clarke would be mad at him when she would find out that he had agreed to bleed her daughter. But he didn't have any other choice, right? Except for letting her die, which definitely wasn't an option.

He looked at the face of his sleeping friends. He had decided to take the first watch with Murphy, but when Eban had crawled into his arms, it only took a few minutes before he falls asleep too, his son resting in his arms. As he looked at them, he realized for the first time that Echo wasn't there anymore. He stood up, frowning, and looked around for her, but with no luck. Fuming, he got back inside and what he saw made his blood completely freeze in his veins. He was terrified like he hasn't been often. Terrified, like the day Octavia got caught and his mom floated. Terrified, like the day Octavia disappeared. Terrified, like the time he woke up, chained and turned upside down. Terrified, like the time Octavia got caught in Mount Weather, when he agreed to the genocide. Terrified, like when he waited for Clarke but she never came. The exact same fear he had felt when he has seen Clarke falling on the ground, blood spreading out of her.

Because lying on the ground, at the exact same place where she had been when he left, Clarke's eyes were open. But they were empty.

She wasn't breathing.

He rushed to her, faster than ever. He kneeled beside her and started CPR, feeling like he might suddenly die, too.

"I am not losing you again." He said before putting his lips on hers, chapped and cold, to send her the air she desperately needed.


	13. Chapter 13

Tram opened the door of Xavier's room to find Abby and Jackson, who were putting a sheet over his small body. They were all fully covered in their suits that wouldn't come off before exiting the room.

"Is he dead?" She asked, while already knowing the answer.  
"Yes. I'm quite surprised he's been able to hold on for so long."  
"How's Magda?" Jackson asked.  
"Pretty good, considering the situation."

Magda was the mother of a teenage girl who died only a few hours after getting sick. Magda was now sick herself, but surprisingly, seemed to be getting better. Abby motioned to the guards to come in and to take care of Xavier's body as the other three went out, careful to speak in a hushed voice.

"How many now?" asked Abby, after taking her suit off.  
"32 people." Jackson answered.  
"Twelve children and twenty adults." Tram clarified. "The kids and teenagers are now getting sick way faster than the adults. They get sick, and then die only a couple of hours later. The adults who died were already sick before."  
"At least Indra, Magda and Paul are getting better." Jackson intervenes.  
"True, but still. You need to do something."  
"We're trying, Tram." Sighed Abby, pinching her nose.  
"Abby!" Kane's voice shouted from their right.

They turned around to see Kane running to them, his face as white as snow.

"What's going on?" Abby asked, already thinking about Clarke.

Bellamy had been in contact with her for the past two days, giving the situation with Clarke. She was afraid that her daughter's heart had stopped beating again.

"It's not about Clarke," Kane said, like he could read her thoughts. "It's Octavia."  
"What's going on?"

He took a deep breath.

"She's sick."

"You've got to be kidding me." Abby thought. "What do you mean?" She asked instead.

Abby, Jackson and Tram followed Kane in the tunnels quickly.

"She started coughing blood, right in front of me. No previous symptoms before. She started panicking."  
"Is she alone now?"

He shook his head.

"No, Jaha is with her." Kane said, slightly out of breath.  
"She visited Indra barely 24 hours ago," Jackson said aloud, "She had to contract the disease at that time."

Abby stopped short.

"She did what?"

The three others also stopped and looked at her, puzzled.

"She visited Indra last night." Jackson repeated, clearly confused.  
"I told her to not approach the sick under any circumstances! What the hell has gotten into her?" she exclaimed, resuming the path, the others following her, still not understanding her reaction.  
"Indra is like her mother. I don't see what surprises you that much." said Tram.  
"What surprises me is that during the last six years, Octavia has always done what she had to do. She knew what she could and could not do. I had a discussion with her, and she knew very well that she should not be close to the infected. If Octavia gets sick, our peace may well collapse and she knows it as well as we do. There are still some people who don't like the idea of living with grounders and vice versa, which is insane, needless to say. So, what was so important for her to put her health at risk by approaching Indra, who is, yes, better, but still sick nonetheless?"  
"There's not necessarily any reason, Abby. I wanted to go see her too." Kane said.  
"But you didn't, because you know the risks. Just like her."  
"C'mon, I'm not the only one who noticed her strange behavior." Tram then intervened.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Nothing that I know for sure." Tram mumbled. "Yet."

When Clarke finally woke up, she realised two things.

One, her whole body felt like she had been shot and left to die.  
Two, that was exactly what had happened.

She got up on her elbows, cringing from the pain. The place – she and Madi had been here a couple years ago – was dark and smelt like rain. Madi was sleeping, curled up next to her. In the dark and in her confused state, she didn't see the cuts on her body, or the fact that she was shaking.

The only other person in the cave besides them was Bellamy. He had a rather unpleasant conversation with Raven only a few minutes ago and his head was now resting in his hands, unaware that Clarke was awake and looking right at him, completely in awed.

"Bellamy, it's been two days. You need to eat something." Raven had said.  
"I'm fine." He had snapped for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Monty brought me the food."  
"Well, you need to get outside with us. Take a bit of fresh air."  
"We've been locked up in space for six years. I think I can wait a bit longer. Besides, it's not like I don't have any air here."  
"So, you're just going to sit here, waiting for Clarke to wake up?"

He didn't say anything. The truth was, he was scared to find out what he would come home to if he left her.

"Again." A voice whispered in his mind.  
"She's going to be alright." Raven continued. "You saved her."

He had sighed.

"One more minute and –"  
"Don't finish that. She's fine. She's alive!"  
"Barely. Emori said it looked like a coma, though she doesn't know much about that. She might never wake up. And I'm sure Abby agrees with her, though she doesn't want to admit it."  
"Clarke will wake up. She's a fighter. She survived Praimfaya. She can survive anything now. To be honest, at this point I think she is basically immortal."

Bellamy had a smirk. That was true. Truer than ever. She was a fighter. But after glancing at Madi, his smile soon fades. He looked at her arm, the way she was shaking, and he thought out loud: "Clarke's going to kill them all. Won't be pretty."  
"I know. She's going to get crazy." Raven agreed, remembering what Madi showed them both the previous day.  
"Any news from Echo?" He asked, dropping the previous subject.

Raven had tensed. She tried hard to not think about her and the knife she had put in everyone's back.

"She probably got smart enough and left before you kill her."

Bellamy's laugh wasn't filled with joy. Six years ago, if someone had told him that he could be even more mad at Echo, he wouldn't have believed them. But still, here he was.  
The thing was, she was – had been? – his friend. He had trusted her, something he never thought possible. Hell, he had loved her. Not in the way she had wanted, clearly, but he had affection for her. And that's what hurt the most about her betrayal.

They were right. The world. There is a very thin line between love and hate.

A part of him was still anxious. Where could she be? Was she with the miners? Was she forced, or was that her own choice?

Which one was the worst one? Honestly?

He raised his head and rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on the walls of the cave. Reflexively, he glanced at Clarke to make sure she was still fine. He did not realize right away that she was already looking at him. He turned away, as his brain analyzed what he had just seen, then looked at her again. He could not believe his eyes. Her eyes were wide and staring straight into his. He stood up and slowly approached her, as if afraid of frightening her. Their eyes hung on one another, as Bellamy fell on his knees before her with a sigh of relief. With a rapid and abrupt movement, forgetting the pain, Clarke threw herself in his arms and clung to his neck. Without hesitation, he tightened his arms against her waist, careful not to hurt her. Tears began to flow down. There was no shame. It was nothing but pure relief. As if their hearts were finally repaired. As if there had been a hole and it had just been filled. Clarke hid her face in Bellamy's neck, grimacing because of the terrible pain, but determined to keep him against her for as long as possible.  
Madi opened her eyes and caught sight of them, both in their little bubble of joy. She smiled at the love they felt for each other, even though they were too stupid to actually see it. Or admit it aloud to each other. But what was holding them back, she wondered.

It was at this moment that Raven and Monty entered the cave. They exchanged banal jokes, their hands full of berries that they had found. They froze on the spot, their eyes fixed on Bellamy and Clarke. Then the fruits fell to the ground and they threw themselves on Clarke for a group hug.

"You bitch," Raven laugh through her tears, "Don't ever try to save us again."

They all laughed and parted. Clarke's face was pale and she did not seem to be at her best, but it was amazing to see her there, in front of them, alive.

As Murphy, Emori, Eban and Harper walked into the cave, they saw the small group gathered around Clarke, who was now holding Madi in her arms with all her might. She whispered something in her ear in her native tongue, and Clarke nodded slightly, listening, a small, subtle smile on her lips, whilst throwing glances at Bellamy.

"Looks like the princess can't die after all, huh?" Murphy said. "It's nice to see you, Clarke." He finished.  
"It's nice to see you, too." She replied with a smile, her voice still weak but the same as before.

One after the other, they all gave her a hug. Murphy introduced Eban to her, who strangely felt intimidated in front of Clarke. It was only when he whispered in his father's ear how pretty he found "Clarkey" that Murphy understood and then clapped Bellamy's back, who couldn't take his eyes off Clarke, who was talking with they others about what they had lived in space.

"You're going to have some competition, buddy." Murphy whispered in a low voice, laughing and pointing to Eban, who was staring at Clarke with admiration in his eyes.

Clarke mostly listened as they told her about the misadventures they had had on the Ark. They all tried to avoid painful subjects and carefully avoided talking about Echo, trying to focus on the funniest things. They talked about how everyone freaked out when Eban was born and how Monty at some point had scream "Fuck, can someone just resuscitate Clarke!"

Then, Madi told them about how Clarke and she had met. Clarke didn't speak often, feeling sleepy and keeping her energy for a discussion that she absolutely had to have. Bellamy and she still had not had the opportunity to discuss. Not really, other than small "You're okay?", "Don't worry." and "Here, drink that."

Harper was the one who finally noticed how Bellamy and Clarke kept glancing at each other, less and less subtle as the time tick by.

"They want to be alone." She realized. "Maybe we should try to sleep a little, the next few days may be hectic." She said, looking at Monty for support, who was slowly figuring out her plan.  
"Yeah, good idea. Let's sleep outside. I want to see the stars."  
"Could they be less subtle?" Raven thought, trying to contain a laugh. "Good idea." She said, looking serious. "Murphy, Emori?"

Murphy looked like he wanted to argue, but Emori struck him in the ribs with her elbow and he followed her, a bemused expression on his face.

"I'm coming, too!" Madi shouted, taking Raven extended hand in her own and following her outside, laughing a little.

The night had now fallen, and Bellamy and Clarke were the only two who were still in the cave. They stared at each other, their faces reflecting their amusement.

"They think we're idiots, don't they?" Bellamy asked, whispering.  
"They always did." Clarke answered in the same voice.

They exchanged a half-smile for a half-joke. Then, the atmosphere became more burdensome. The time had come for the conversation they had both feared.

"If you could know how sorry I am." Bellamy began, throat tight with emotion.  
"Don't be." Clarke said, grabbing his hand in hers.  
"I never should have left you."  
"You had to. You wouldn't have survived down here. Hey, look at me," she said when he looked away, guilt ripping his heart apart, "We didn't have much time. You had to leave me here. That's what I wanted. That's what you needed to do, and we both knew it."  
"I thought you were dead. For six years."

He didn't say what they both knew he meant by that. That he had hated himself for six years, thinking that he was part of the reason why she was dead. That he had hated himself, knowing that he didn't respect his promise to Abby.

"But I'm not." A beat, then. "I didn't know if you were alive, either."

He looked at her, and took on the magnitude of all she had lived. He knew she had been alone for a long time before finding Madi. Alone in the world. Literally. How could she survive this solitude? Perhaps, one day, she would tell him the whole story.

"But I never lost hope. I needed to believe that you were alive. That I didn't fail any of you." She continued. "That I didn't lose you for good."

Their eyes locked. They both looked at each other's lips. The tension in the room had changed. Something else was coming. Something they both desperately needed.

They got closer, slowly, like they had the eternity before them. Their eyes locked once again. Clarke felt out of breath and Bellamy thought that his heart might suddenly explode. They could feel the other's breath on their lips. Bellamy's hand stood to land on Clarke's cheek as she slowly closed her eyes. Their lips were almost touching, Bellamy's hand was about to fall on Clarke's cheek as Raven entered the cave.

"Sorry guys, really, but we have a problem!"

Clarke and Bellamy exchanged a glance, a million words passing between them, before he turned to Raven, frowning.

"What's happening?"  
"Kane just contacted us on the radio." She sighed, as if she dreaded the rest.

Automatically, Bellamy was worried. He already knew something was wrong. Clarke pressed his hand, which she still held. This little pressure, however subtle, was an incredible comfort.

"We have to get them out of there. A disease spreaded in the bunker." She took her courage in both hands, then: "Your sister's sick."


	14. Chapter 14

The days had passed, and things were both the same, yet so different. On the good side, Clarke was getting much better. Her skin was colourful again, she smiled and laughed without feeling too much pain. Although Raven told her that some of it might never go away.

Bellamy and she haven't talked about what almost happened in the cave. And no one dared to say anything about it, even though they were rolling their eyes at them. Sometimes, it almost seemed as if they were more impatient than them. But the truth was, they just hadn't had so much time together since the news came. Plus, with Echo still missing and everyone in the bunker in danger, they had a lot to think about. Bellamy was worried sick about Octavia and tried to be in contact with Abby as often as possible, while Clarke stayed a lot with Madi. The later felt a bit overwhelmed by the arrival of Clarke's friends. And to be honest, Clarke was feeling the same way. Things had changed, nonetheless to say. The inside jokes and the familiarly… Clarke's weren't a part of this anymore. It was hard to admit, but she knew it. She doesn't feel like a part of the gang anymore. There were Clarke and Madi, and there was them.

But, when she looked at Bellamy, she wasn't so sure anymore. He still feels like home.

It was strange for Bellamy, too. The girl he had mourned was alive. It wasn't something anyone could really expect. But then again, was that surprising? It was Clarke.

He loved the fact that so little things had changed between them, even after years apart. When they looked at each other, they could still communicate without any words. The chemistry was still there, undeniable. Her hands were softer now, though. She looked more peaceful as if the burden she had before had been lifted from her shoulders. But sometimes, she would look away, in the direction of the Miners, and there it was. The 18 years old girl was back, full throttle.

And then, Madi would say something and she would look at her with an expression that he had never seen before. Not exactly. But that he knew very well. The kind of love that you can only feel for someone you love unconditionally. The kind of love a parent has for his kid. Him and Octavia. Clarke and Madi. It was the same now.

He understood how Clarke felt about the Miners. Since Madi showed them her belly, he was scared of Clarke's reaction. She hadn't said a lot. But if the fire that was burning in her eyes was an indication, the Miners were going to pay. Hard.

Talking about Madi, he already loved her. She was a badass. A mini-Clarke. Just as smart, bold, brave and sweet at the same time. One night, as Clarke was talking for the first time in six years to Abby, she came to him and sat beside him near the fire. She smiled and started talking about her favourite hero from the Greek mythology. Then, he told her every story that Clarke didn't know, or that Becca didn't have in her lab. When Clarke came back, they were both laughing and smiling at each other, completely into their conversation. The feeling in her heart was indescribable.

She had felt so alone for so long. Then, Madi had come, but something was still missing. She missed her mom, her friends, her family. After so many years apart, after so many doubts and tears, it was incredible to know for a fact that they were still alive.

As they were walking on the rubble of the bunker, trying to find the damn entry which was, for now, still missing, Clarke thought about her first conversation with her mom. She had tried to stay strong, but she couldn't help the tears that fell on her cheeks. As her mom was talking to her, a hole in her heart finally closed. She hadn't been ready to lose her mother for good. But now, she was alive. Without a doubt. Still, a part of her couldn't believe it. Like it was only a dream. Like it couldn't be real. She was always waiting to wake up, to realize that the past few days have been just a fantasy. That no one came down the sky. That she and Madi were still alone. She couldn't believe that her friends were real, even though they were right here, beside her. And she couldn't believe that she would see her mother soon. If they could find the entry and save them before they all died, of course.

A part of her thought that, maybe, probably, she was still holding back her feeling just in case. In case something bad happened. In case she died, down there. In case the Miners attack. In case, just in case. She couldn't lose her twice. She couldn't lose any of them again. She wouldn't survive this. Her heart would shatter into tiny pieces, impossible to heal.

"Clarke, baby, we are going to see each other again. I know it. I love you. And you're going to explain everything to me." Abby had said, still pretty much unknowing of the whole situation. She knew they were people outside. Other people. She knew she had been shot. But that's it. She didn't even know that Clarke had been alone for so many years. She asked about the daughter Bellamy had talked about, but Clarke simply said that it was part of the long story she had to tell her. That everything would come clear, eventually. Unknown to Abby, Clarke also planned to show her Madi's stomach, to show how cruel the Miners could be. Abby hadn't tried to argue, but it was obvious that she was curious and preoccupied. Which mom wouldn't be?

"Of course. I love you, mom."

"Hey, you alright?" Raven asked, appearing beside her, still looking down and moving the rubble, trying to find the entry.  
"Yeah, I am. I still can't believe that you are actually here."

Raven laughed, the irony of the situation clear.

"We can't believe that you are here either, trust me. I swear Clarke, Death must fear you. It's unbelievable, someone like you, who just won't die."  
"I'm just too stubborn." Clarke laughed.  
"That you are! But all jokes aside, I'm glad to have my friend back. I missed you so much." She sighs and looked at the others, who couldn't hear what they were saying. "It wasn't the same without you. No one could save our asses like you always did. Bellamy…" They both turned to look at him, who was talking to Kane in the talkie-walkie. "He was a mess, at the beginning. I mean, we all were, but he was the worst. He couldn't live with this guilt. He moved on, obviously, but he changed so much in six years. I mean, you can see the beard!" She said, which cause them both to laugh.  
"Hard to miss." She takes a pause, then: "It was that bad?"  
"You have no idea. He was heartbroken. I was glad when he came back, you know? Back from his grief, I mean. I thought he was going to hate himself for the rest of his life."  
"He shouldn't," Clarke exclaims. "It was the right decision. The only thing that would keep you all alive."  
"He knows it. We all do. It didn't make it easier. And between us, he would have let us all die if it could save you."

—

"No, still nothing," Bellamy confirmed to Kane in the talkie-walkie, who was asking if they could hear them.

It has been this way for the past two days. They would walk on Polis, who was unrecognizable, every mark gone, and try to hear something from below the ground, where Kane and a few others were making as much noise as possible.

Clearly, that wasn't a success.

"We should stop for tonight." Monty proposed. "Everyone's tired and Madi doesn't know what to do to entertain Eban anymore."

The all glanced at the pair. Madi was working hard to keep Eban away, since they didn't want him to get hurt with the rubble. Then, they glanced at Bellamy, who seemed unsure. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to stay here, find the entry and get his sister out of this damn bunker. He wanted her to live. But he looked at his friends, at Clarke, at the kids, and he knew what was the right choice.

"Fine, you're right." He sighs. "Kane, you hear me?"  
"Yes. Did you hear us?"  
"No. We need to stop for tonight."  
"Alright."  
"Sorry, Kane."  
"Don't worry, son."  
"Clarke! Bellamy!" Suddenly yelled Madi.

The scream made them all jump. Bellamy and Clarke exchanged a glance, their heartbeat fast. What was going on? Miners? They were both thinkings. Only the worst-case scenarios. In a matter of seconds, Clarke and Bellamy rush to her side, soon followed by the others. But the girl, nor the boy, wasn't hurt. In fact, they were smiling.

"Look at what Eban found!"

—

Kane looked at everyone around him. They seemed tired. They looked the same way as he felt. Exhausted. Both mentally and physically.

"Ok everyone, night's off." He claimed, to everyone's relief and, at the same time, exasperation. Another day wasted. Another day where they couldn't go out. Another day where they would risk everyone's life.  
"Nathan?" Kane called as the boy - the man now - was getting out of the room like the others.  
"Yeah?" He stopped.  
"Jackson told me you were supposed to stop by to see Octavia this morning. How's she?"  
"She's not fine. I think she's hallucinating."

Speechless, Kane got closer to him. "What are you talking about?"  
"She kept saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry'," Miller said, badly imitating Octavia's voice. "When I asked about that, Jaha basically ran away and Tram said she has been doing that since last night, but that neither Abby, Jackson or she could make her say why she's so sorry for."  
"That's… special."  
"It is, indeed. I heard Indra getting out of quarantine tonight?"  
"Yeah, that's right," Kane confirmed, still preoccupied with Octavia's well being.  
"Maybe she could talk to her. Through the glass and in full costume, like I did. Maybe Octavia will talk to her."

Nathan tapped his shoulder and smiled at him. He was about to walk out when Bellamy's voice escalated through the radio.

"Kane? Are you still there?"  
"Bellamy, is everything alright?"

Nathan and he exchanged a look, worried.

"We found the entry." He paused, letting them understand what he meant. "We are getting you out of there."

—

Abby was looking at Octavia through the glass. The poor girl looked at the wall, crying and spitting blood, muttering "I'm so sorry" on repeat. Abby couldn't understand why she was saying that and she tried to help her, but with no results. Octavia was going crazy. At least, her health hadn't declined since she got sick, which might mean that she was going to get through this.

When she exited the room and got off from her costume, she came face to face with Indra. She looked as healthy as before, maybe just thinner and more tired.

"Indra!" She exclaimed, pleased to see her. "How are you?"  
"How is she?" Indra asked instead.

Abby hesitated for a brief second.

"Well, her health is steady. No degradation, but no amelioration either. I'm more worried about the hallucination."  
"Hallucinations? What kind?"  
"We don't know. She keeps saying sorry to someone, but she won't talk to us."

Something passed on Indra's face. But before Abby could ask or say anything, Kane came in, followed by Miller.

"Indra!" He exclaimed before hugging her. "It's amazing to see you. You look well."  
"I'm feeling good. I'm glad to see that you're ok."  
"I'm more than ok, actually."

Confused, the woman looked at him smiling.

"They found us. They're getting us out of here."

—

Gellert was sitting at his desk, smiling to the person sitting in front of him, wearing Miner's clothes.

"Tell me, dear, when do we proceed?"  
"They were heading for Polis last time I saw them. And Clarke was alive."  
"Yes, I'm actually quite surprised by this turns of events. She's strong."  
"She's not that strong." The woman snapped. "She's just lucky."  
"Lucky," Gellert repeated, amused. "That's an interesting way of putting it."  
"She doesn't have anything special."  
"Although she was Wanheda. Commander of death."  
"That doesn't mean anything. I know the whole story, now. She might be smart, but she is not even the smartest of the group. She's only stubborn."  
"I'll give you that. From what you told me, Miss Reyes and Mister Green seem quite interesting people. If they are smart enough, they might accept a deal."  
"I doubt it. They are loyal."  
"Anyone can change clan when given the possibility. Look at you. You came to your senses and come back to us, to me, because it was the best decision. Because I can give you what you want."

He stood up and walked to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"You and I, Echo, we both want the same thing. Peace. We want to feel safe in this world."  
"They will get the others out of the bunker. You will be outnumbered."  
"But they will be weak. And we know, thanks to the radio, that their leader is sick. We might be able to do something about this unfortunate situation. Don't be afraid. Besides, my guards are already there, watching them and ready to attack as soon as I tell them so."  
"And we will have what we want." She muttered.

He caressed her face. She didn't move.

"We will, indeed. With both of their deaths, everything will crumble. Their friends will come running to us. They won't stand a change and will acknowledged who their true loyalty needs to lie with now."

He kissed her. It was sweeter than anyone could have ever imagined. And she wasn't fighting back. She was enjoying it. It clearly wasn't their first time.

"You and I, we will run the world. The King and his Queen, side by side."

She bit his upper lip with a playful laugh, which earned him a smirk.

"We let them find the bunker. Then, as soon as they get out of there, we proceed. Your guards attack."  
"I love your way of thinking. A surprise attacks. They won't expect it, too preoccupied with their newly saved friends."

He grabbed their glasses and handed hers to her.

"Let's drink to that, dear. Shall we?"  
"We shall."

They clink glasses and smiled at each other.

"To Bellamy's and Clarke's death. Our beginning." They chanted.


	15. Chapter 15

After considerable efforts, they had managed to open the bunker door with the Rover. Now, there was a strange atmosphere in the bunker. Everyone laughed, made their bags and greeted the newcomers, but all with a surgical mask on their face and standing far apart from each other. But even though she wasn't supposed to touch anyone, Abby couldn't resist hugging her daughter as soon as she saw her.

Now, Bellamy, Clarke, Madi, Tram, Abby, and Kane were standing in front of the window of Octavia's room, who was sleeping peacefully. For the first time in a while, according to Abby. Seeing her like this, so vulnerable, was awful.

"She is slowly getting better. She has swallowed a few bites of bread this morning." Abby said. "She will recover."  
"When did all this begin?" He asks in return.  
"About six months ago. A child got sick and then, everything went downhill from there."  
"And you don't know where this is coming from?" Clarke asked, making sure the mask was correctly covering Madi's face.  
"No."  
"I have my idea." Tram objected in a half-whisper that Madi heard without a problem, being closer to her than the others.  
"C'mon now," Abby said, looking at Clarke. "We need to talk."

Bellamy and she exchanged a glance as she and Madi left with Abby in the office. Tram left soon after, muttering something about having to finish packing her things. Now alone with Bellamy, Kane could take a good look at him. He couldn't believe how much time had flown. How much he had changed. The beard, for starter, obviously. But there was something in his eyes, too. It wasn't hard to understand. He was looking at his sister, who looked almost dead in her bed. He hadn't seen her in years, and now...

"She will get better, Bellamy."  
"Yeah, of course."  
"I'm serious."  
"You can't know that, Kane. Look at her. I can't lose her."  
"You won't," Jaha said, coming from behind them alongside Indra. "Hello, son." He added. "Nice to see you all again. I saw the girl with Clarke. Is she your daughter?"  
"No," Bellamy said, his cheeks getting slightly redder. "It's not what you think. She's a nightblood. Clarke raised her."  
"How? Wasn't she in space with you?" Kane asked doubts settle in his head.  
Bellamy sighs. " _There we go._ " He thoughts.

"You _what_?" Abby shouted.  
"Mom, it's not that bad. I'm alright." A beat. "I had Madi."

The tears in Abby's eyes were hard to miss. She imagined her daughter, her baby, alone on Earth. Then she turned to Madi and hugged her tightly. The girl was stunned for a moment but hugged her back with just as much force.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Madi."  
"We both did." She answered.

They parted away, and Abby laugh as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I really thought you had a baby with Bellamy. Well, is there something else that you've failed to tell me? Like, for example, how you got shot?"

Clarke smiled, but it quickly disappeared. Where to start?

"Alright, hmm... There are newcomers outside, coming from space, too. Prisoners, at least initially, if I believe what's on their ship. During the last years, I tried to communicate with the others. But my messages were intercepted by them. By their leader, Gellert. He intended to kill us all, to make sure they were safe on Earth. They abducted us. Attempted to kill me. We ran away, but Echo disappeared." Clarke paused for a moment. "They will probably try to kill us again."

Abby looked stunned for a second. She sat on her desk and stared at Clarke, her mouth slightly open.

"Another day on the ground, right?" Madi joked.  
"What are we doing now?"  
"We kill them," Clarke answered in an irrevocable tone.  
"Hmm..."  
"Madi, show her."

Madi hesitated a moment, uncertain and shy, but still raised her sweater on her belly. It was covered with irregular cuts. Some deep, some superficial, coming in all shapes and forms. Abby felt ill.

"What the hell happened?"  
"Gellert's son, Jakob, took me and Eban. He said he wanted to have fun. Strapped me to a table, and said 'I wonder how loud you can scream.' He was about to start with Eban when his mom came in and saw me. She stopped him and decided to tell the other guards around that it was clearly an accident. That I must have done it to myself, or something like that. It was all a game for him. He just wanted to hurt me. But his mom... She made everyone leave, excluding Jakob and Eban, who was in a cage like an animal. She inserted a finger in me, in the cuts, and twisted. It hurt like hell, and they just laughed." Madi wasn't looking at Abby anymore. Her eyes were lost, as she was replaying the horrible memories. "When I showed it to Harper, and then to Bellamy and Raven, they found a chip in it. Something to locate me. That's what she was doing. She was making sure it was safe and wouldn't come out. Clarke was still asleep, so Bellamy had to take the chip out, while Raven held my hand. It hurt just as bad, but I knew that I had to do it." She paused, before adding: "Murphy destroyed to chip, by the way. Don't worry about it."

But worrying about the chip was the last thing Abby was thinking about. She was looking at Madi, this brave little girl, with so much horror in her eyes. She just couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Does it still hurt?" Abby asked.  
"Yes, but I managed. You kinda get used to it, at some point."  
"She shouldn't have to get used to it." Clarke intervenes. "She will have these scars forever. She will always remember. They will die. All of them." She said, holding Madi closer to her.

Abby took a last glance at Madi, her granddaughter by heart, before saying: "Yeah, they will."

Octavia opened her eyes to find someone sitting on the edge of her bed, totally dressed in an anti-disease suit, as Tram called them. Her vision was blurry as if she could not get the focus right. She blinked a few times and the face became clearer. But she was still dreaming, obviously. He could not be there, right by her side.

"O?" He asks.  
"Bell?" she asked, feeling tears rise in her eyes.

When did she cry for the last time?

"Honestly, you look horrible."  
"Yet, I feel top shape," she replied jokingly. "I cannot believe you're here." She continued this time more seriously.  
"Yeah, me neither. I missed you."  
"I missed you too, the last six years have been ... hell."

Bellamy frowned. The others had not mentioned anything special in the past six years, other than the illness.

"I'm sure you did a great job. The Grounders - "  
"Are we alone?" She interrupted.

He glanced out the window, where he saw that Indra and Jaha were still there, even though they were pretending to give them some privacy by not looking at them. But they were listening to their conversation, no doubts here.

"Indra and Jaha are outside, behind the window. Everyone's worried about you."  
"We have to get out of here, everyone," she said, sniffing. "This place will drive us crazy." she sneered, then, "Crazier than we already are."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"I crossed the line."

A poke in the window prevented Bellamy from responding. Kane was back, three people in the same suit as Bellamy behind him.

"We are ready to get her out."  
"One minute!" He turned to Octavia. "O, what are you talking about, what line have you crossed? O?" He repeated when he didn't get an answer. Instead, Octavia's gaze was focused on the glass. Directly on Indra and Jaha.

"Yes, sir, they're in the bunker. We are waiting for them to get out."  
"Alright, remember the plan. Only take their leaders. We won't need the others for now." Gellert said.  
"Yes, sir."  
"This better works," Echo muttered.  
"Having doubts, sweetheart?"

Echo laughed.

"It can't be that easy."  
"You might be surprised. Remember, the cleaver plans are sometimes the easiest."  
"Still."  
"Trust me." Gellert pleaded. "Trust us. This land will be ours and their people will come running back to us."  
"I wish you're right." Echo replied.  
"I always am," Gellert said, getting closer to Echo. "They killed my own son. Maria hasn't come out of her room since then. Indirectly killed Maxim, too. Let Alex an orphan. And many more. They killed my guards. Their wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, parents and kids want justice. And I will give it to them. They will pay."  
"Sir!" a new voice in the talkie-walkie. "They're getting out of there. Based on the description the girl gave you, we have at least two, no three targets. But most of them have their face covered or wearing protective suits."  
"Who do you have?" Gellert asks, a hand resting on Echo's hips.  
"Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin and her mother, I think."  
"You need to be sure of it, Sergeant."  
"Alright, I'm sure. They – Sir, Bellamy Blake is outside, too. He is getting someone out on a stretcher."  
"Must be his sister. She's sick. Take her too, she's their leader."  
"But sir, if she's –"  
"Do it!" Gellert ordered.  
"Alright. We have them all, now. We're ready to attack. Waiting for permission."

Then, instead of letting Gellert answer, Echo pressed the button and said, confidently: "Attack."


End file.
